Rise Up
by noblecrescent
Summary: Zoom is coming for the Flash so there's no time to waste. Along with Zoom comes his terrible band of metas to terrorize Central City. While the Azalea makes her return to the city, she unknowingly marks herself as the target of another dangerous hunt. Together, Belén & Barry must work with STAR Labs to prevent their Earth from falling as Earth 2 did. It is time to rise up.
1. And After All

**Author's Note:**

Welcome to the second story involving my OC Belén in the Flash world (pronounced Beh-len with an extra emphasis on the second syllable, hence the accent over the 'e'; so it's Beh- _lén. a_ nd not like the name Helen). This story is a Barry/OC story with a rewritten season 2 plot!

The OC introduced will look like the actress **_Lauren Conrad_** with dark brown eyes and caramel brown hair leading down to blonde tips (ombre-hair).

As I have said before, this is the _second_ story involving this OC. The first story is published on my profile under the name ' _It Had To Be You'_. I do recommend you go read that first as it contains a lot of Belén's past concerning herself, her family, STAR Labs & Barry. You don't have to it's just some advice! :)

* * *

" _Now Miss…?"_

" _Belén Palayta," the woman pushed back some of her ombre-blonde hair and did her best to keep eye contact with the elder woman sitting across her. However that proved difficult as she blinked rapidly and shifted every second or so on her seat._

 _The older woman, a professional, jotted down what she saw without remarking. "Your friend Nina referred you to me, and I promise you I can be your utmost confidant in anything you want. If it helps-" she leaned forwards and talked in a hushed tone as if her office was open for all to hear, "-I also know Nina has these powers. She says you relate to it as well."_

 _Belén knew her friend, Nina Clarke, would never reveal her identity to anyone. But if Nina had given the slip that she had powers - without sharing what sort of powers - Belén trusted the professional psychologist woman even more._

" _I do," Belén nodded and once more shifted to cross her other leg instead._

" _Well, where would you like to start?"_

 _Belén looked down for a minute, and while she didn't say anything for some minutes, the psychologist jotted down the emotions across Belén's face._

" _I lost...everything," Belén said after a full five minutes of silence. Teary eyed, she looked up to the waiting psychologist. "Is that possible? For someone to lose everything?"_

" _In central city?" the psychologist smiled. "Yes."_

 _Belén swallowed hard. "I lost my dad, a year ago, he was murdered. And then...and then a month ago...my brother passed away. The next day my sister went to jail." She nervously played with one of her curls. "That same day my boyfriend broke up with me. Um, and...and I ended up...alone." She blinked tears away and looked at back at the psychologist. "Well...not completely alone, I guess. I became the legal guardian for my sister's four year old son. Thing is, I can't keep him unless I get out of this…" she made a gesture with her hand, "...funk, as one of my friends says it to be."_

" _So, is that why you're here?" the psychologist inquired. "To keep your nephew's custody?"_

 _Belén thought about it, she truly thought about it, and in the end she gave a shake of her head. "I want to get better. I want to_ **be** _better. I'm tired of feeling like this. I deserve better...so I'm going to get better."_

~0~

 ** _6 months later._**

"Iris! Iris!" four year old Axel Palayta-Meyer let the entire Central City police department hear his calls for his favorite babysitter.

Behind him was his aunt, Belén Palayta, who was trying to keep up with him while actively shushing him. Axel knew where to go and ran into the officers' desks where, effectively, he found Iris West conversing with her father, Joe West, and their friend, Cisco Ramon.

"Iris!"

Iris stopped talking with Joe and Cisco to greet the newcomer. "Axel!" she laughed as he threw his arms around her waist for hug.

Belén came rushing in a second later, her hand struggling to keep her purse's strap from falling off her arm. "I'm so sorry! He just gets so excited - I...I don't know." Although it had been 6 months since she gained Axel's custody, she was still struggling to keep up with the boy 24/7 while also balancing her jobs and...her powers.

Everyone else knew that too. So when they could help, they would.

Iris took Axel's hand and looked down at the boy. "Well we are going to have a very fun day, aren't we Axel?"

"Yes!" the boy cheered.

"Thank you so much for looking after him while I, uh…" Belén gave a gesture with her finger tapping the side of her head. They knew she had opted to start therapy sessions for her benefit.

"It's fine," Iris assured.

"Nina was supposed to babysit but she got stuck at the hospital, so-"

"Belén, it's really okay," Iris chuckled.

"Hey Bells, were you by any chance thinking of, uh, going to tomorrow's rally…?" Cisco trudged along very carefully while asking the question.

"Um…" Belén thought for a moment, "...you know, at first I was a bit iffy about it, considering I _am_ technically the Flash's ex…"

The other three exchanged disappointed glances, no one had agreed with the sudden decision Barry had taken regarding his relationship with Belén. They just didn't understand. For a while, neither had Belén.

"But then I realized that this rally isn't just for him, it's for all of you," Belén finished with a genuine smile. "It's for you, Cisco, Iris, Joe, professor Stein, Ronnie, Caitlin...all of you."

"And you," Iris pointed but Belén shook her head.

"All I did was finish my family," she said bitterly. "But to answer your question, Cisco, I will go."

"Good, so that makes everyone except Barry," Joe shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Belén looked at him, confused.

"Barry doesn't want to go. And it worries me…"

"But...he's gonna get the key to the city..."

Joe shrugged, looking pretty dejected they had yet to convince Barry to change his mind. "Well, you know Barry. The more we try to convince him to do something, the less he's gonna want to do it."

"I thought I knew him," Belén responded quietly. When she realized she had tarnished the mood she ventured to change the topic. "You guys are coming to _my_ show tomorrow night, right?"

"Front row seats, baby!" Cisco high fived her and laughed with her.

"You know we'll be there too," Iris nodded her head as did Joe.

"Isn't it a bit weird though?" Joe asked, looking pretty confused as he explained better his question. "I mean, this is a tribute to...the Azalea...who's believed to be dead...and you're the lead?"

Belén agreed it completely was weird, and highly ironic.

~0~

"So, the city still thinks I'm dead - well, not this me-me, but...the Azalea me," Belén was sat once again on a in chair across her confidant psychologist, Dr. Baeva. "And they decided to go through with their idea to honor her," Belén laughed, "They think I died helping the Flash save the city. Ironic."

Dr. Baeva stared at her patient with an emotionless face, as was her custom. She often reminded that she was there to help Belén feel better about herself, despite whatever decision Belén took regarding her other identity. "And...do you ever consider of correcting the city? The Azalea survived."

Belén's smile faded at the question. "I mean...what would be the point? Barry decided that he would rather work alone in all aspects. He doesn't need Belén nor the Azalea anymore."

"Okay," Dr. Baeva nodded, acknowledging Belén's answer. "But, what do _you_ think the Azalea should be? Dead? Alive?"

Belén knew what the woman was trying to get her to see. She had often been told she based far too many of her decisions on other people, primarily on Barry. She supposed it had to do with the fact that as she lost people, Barry was there to be her rock. She had become dependent on him, and she - as Dr. Baeva noted - still depended on him after their break up. When the Azalea was pronounced dead, Belén was shocked but also understood that after a while of not seeing her, the city would come up with its own conclusions: the Azalea died on the day of the black hole. At first, Belén was mortified to see that the person she had actually loved to be was no longer going to be remembered. It was then that she decided to delve into her own work to forget about it, push it away and act like it just never existed in the first place.

To further it, to become the Belén she used to be, she went back to her old aerial dance team in the city. While at first it had become nothing but a pastime, her skills proved to be more than intact for a true show. That was when they informed Belén they wanted to give a tribute to the Azalea since the city was planning on giving the Flash his own personal day. Belén honestly hadn't known what to feel then, especially after being asked to be the _lead_ of the show. She had been so focused on getting the Azalea out of her life that she forgot some people actually cared about her - the Azalea. After much hassling, Belén agreed to be the lead for her own tribute.

And it wasn't like she was letting the Azalea completely die. Since her powers had given her some trouble that caused her to lose control, she started training with Cisco to get them back under her reigns. No more would she lose control even if she no longer used her powers as a hero.

"Belén?" Dr. Baeva asked again, this time hoping for an answer.

"At first, I was relieved, you know, that I wouldn't have to worry about being the Azalea anymore. Because if she was dead, then I couldn't lose anymore people like my brother and my sister..." Belén paused to think, "But today being the day that I'm technically supposed to say goodbye to the Azalea, I...I…" her face changed fast and revealed she was terribly opposed to it, "...I don't want to say goodbye. I _am_ the Azalea, and I am not dead."

Despite her professional conduct, Dr. Baeva's lips twitched trying to form a smile. Secretly, she didn't want to see the Azalea gone either.

~0~

Belén's footsteps over the grassy field of the cemetary crunched some of the fallen leaves on the ground. She passed gravestones in silence until she came to the two that she always visited. Her dark brown eyes gazed over her father's gravestone with a sad smile. She turned her left palm over and gently flicked a couple of her fingers. Green vines rose from the grass and crawled over the edges of the gravestone, letting hot pink Azaleas blossom.

"Today's my show, Dad," Belén took in a deep breath, putting on another smile as if her father would see it. David Palayta had been dead for over a year now, but it still felt like yesterday when Belén lost him to murder by Thawne. "They all think I'm dead but you know that I'm not. I'm still here. Wish me good luck."

She cleared her throat and moved to the gravestone beside her father's. Despite it being six months later, she still shuddered a breath upon seeing her twin brother's name. Rayan Palayta had caused her to shed so many tears, but even now Belén loved her brother. Maybe it was better this way - it seemed to beat an everlasting coma anyways.

Six months ago, after being captured by Belén and their older sister Maritza, Rayan had been induced into a coma. Due to his overwhelming telekinetic powers, his body had begun to shut down starting with important parts of his brain. It was those important parts that caused Rayan to lose his personality for that of a delirious, evil metahuman. While they had the option of leaving Rayan in a coma, it was decided between Belén and her mother - who had to learn the hard way that her son had turned into a criminal - that it would be better to pull the plug. Rayan was already dead, in a sense.

Belén raised her hand and created the same pink Azaleas. "I still miss you, Rayan," she whispered and wiped some tears from her eyes before they escaped.

~ 0 ~

The next day, everyone in the city gathered for 'Flash Day' at the town's favorite park. There were many sellers of food, toys, trinkets; anything possible it was there. At the center of the park was a large stage with a podium, and a large Flash banner hung at the back for everyone to see.

At a corner were various city cop cars parked while some of its drivers scoured the event. Cisco and Joe were leaned back on Joe's car, overlooking the event.

"Are we expecting trouble?" Cisco asked after counting each cop that was present.

"Cops always expect trouble. In this city, I expect super evil flying monsters," Joe shot him a smile.

Cisco gave a nod of his head. "That's a solid expectation." He turned his head when he heard a familiar boy's happy cries and saw Axel jumping up and down as Belén handed him an ice cream. "Bells!" Cisco called, making the woman look up.

Smiling, she gently pushed Axel to walk towards the two men. "Hey," she greeted them both.

"Is that cherry ice cream?" Cisco looked down at Axel's ice cream with shock.

"Mine!" Axel poked Cisco on the leg with a medium-sized inflatable, red hammer.

"Axel!" Belén scolded and snatched said toy from him. "We do not do that!"

"Sorry," the boy said after a moment.

"Don't worry about it," Cisco laughed.

"So did you guys convince him?" Belén looked at Joe anxiously. She preferred not to say his name out loud for...reasons...

"Iris talked to him but...we don't know if he's coming or not," admitted the man.

"He better come, because someone-" Belén nodded down at Axel, "-is expecting an appearance."

"You sure it's only the four year old?" Cisco couldn't help tease. Belén deadpanned him then hit him over the head with the inflatable hammer. "I deserve that," went Cisco afterwards while Joe and Axel laughed.

"Belén?" they heard a man a call. Belén glanced back just as a young man with dark hair and matching eyes approached them. "I lost you!"

Smiling apologetically, Belén gestured to the toy she held and then Axel. "He wanted some things."

"You sure it was only the four year old?" the man teased much like Cisco had, and, just like before, Belén hit him on the head with the inflatable hammer.

"Everyone is so mean today," Belén huffed.

"While you huff and gruff, I'm gonna introduce myself to your friends." The man extended a hand to the surprised Cisco. "Mark Forneez."

"Cisco Ramon," the other said slowly, suddenly eyeing Mark with a bit of distaste.

"Joe West," the older man was also eyeing Mark suspiciously.

"Mark is my old time friend from my aerial dancing group," Belén explained, noticing her friends' looks. "He's been helping me get back in shape for the show."

"You're coming right?" Mark then asked of the two men who had yet to say anything after introducing themselves. "Belén's really nervous because it's her first show after so many years."

"Yeah, we'll be there," Cisco broke out of his trance to respond.

"Great," Mark glanced back at Belén, "We should go. Ingrid's looking for us."

Belén nodded and handed him the inflatable hammer to take Axel's hand. "I'll see you guys tonight then," she said to Cisco and Joe.

"Are they, you know…?" Joe felt awkward asking the question on a woman that wasn't even related to him. But he knew that despite Barry purposely avoiding Belén, he still so very much cared for her.

"I have...no idea," Cisco admitted. They'd practiced together but Belén had never mentioned anything about dating again.

As Belén and Mark walked off, Belén was laughing. "Ingrid's so gonna kill you for that one."

They stopped at a stall where some of their other aerial dance friends were. Almost immediately, Axel spotted yet another toy he wanted and despite Belén telling him no, Mark offered a 'yes'. He took Axel's hand and smugly waved goodbye at Belén who didn't look so mad as she struggled not to laugh instead.

As she calmed, however, she felt like someone was looking at her. She glanced back but saw no one specific that had an interest in her. Thinking it was just her imagination, she focused back on her team. It would be impossible to spot Barry in the midst of so many people. But that was how he could catch brief moments of her without having to be so close and so...tempted to talk with her. She looked happy, and that was what he wanted the most. She didn't have to keep hurting because of him, no. She deserved better and she was finally getting it.

Barry wasn't too sure of her new friends since he preferred not to look them up like a jealous ex-boyfriend (which he told himself he was not) would. He just knew that they were part of her aerial team. He recognized only one, though, because he had met Mark the day Belén took him to the show Barry had bought her tickets to. And although it shouldn't, it irked Barry that Belén had spent so much time with Mark over these last couple of months.

And perhaps if Barry hadn't been so focused on his thoughts he would have seen a strange man snapping a picture of him from afar...as well as one of Belén's.

"Datura," the strange man mumbled and hurried to leave before anyone noticed him.

Time later, the mayor of the city appeared to address the massive crowd. He walked down the stage to stand before the podium. "Good morning, Central City," he began, "A year ago, our world changed. Our city became ground zero for... some pretty weird stuff. We got a new breed of criminal: Men and women who defied not only our laws, but physics and reason. But we got something else, too. We got the Flash! Our wounds run deep as we have lost people in the process, and I know many of you are afraid of what threats tomorrow may bring. But the Flash doesn't just protect us, he restores hope where it was lost. That's why I'm honored to present the key to the man who saved Central City: The Flash!" He raised a miniature golden key propped on a black platform intending for the Flash to take it.

There was a couple of minutes in which the crowd could only look around to see if the man of the hour would show up. But, thankfully, Barry sped straight up to the stage. Instantly, the crowd cheered for him.

The Mayor turned from the podium to address Barry. "The doors to Central City will forever be open for you, Flash."

Although heavily uncomfortable, Barry played the role the city so desperately wanted him to play and reached to take the key.

"LOOK OUT!" Joe suddenly screamed at the sight of a meals-on-wheels lunchtruck flying midair towards the stage.

Barry quickly took the mayor and zipped off the stage. The crowd screamed and dispersed as the truck crashed onto the stage. Among the crowd, Belén grabbed her nephew and ran to safety without looking back. Cops failed to stop the mysterious culprit who hid underneath a black, metal mask. He proved to be quite strong when he threw Barry over a cop's car with little effort.

Joe had to break Cisco from a sudden trance in order to get the man's newly-finished device that would apparently help them fight off metahumans. Cisco handed Joe a metal device fashioned in the manner of a bazooka or gun. Joe shot towards the metahuman and out sprang a metal clamp that attached itself to the metahuman's leg. It gave off electricity but instead of harming the metahuman, it enlarged him. Barry got up from his fall and spotted gas tanks meant to be used for the food. He rushed over and returned with two of them in his hands.

"What are you doing!?" Joe eyed the tanks in confusion.

"I'm throwing, you're shooting," Barry warned of the quick plan. He threw the tanks towards the metahuman and Joe swiftly shot at both of them, making them explode right over the metahuman. The two were blown back from the force but were able to look up in time to see the metahuman had also been blown back. His mask opened up for a split second to reveal a very familiar face underneath.

"That's Al Rothstein," Joe pointed with a shaking finger. "The body we found at the nuclear plant, he's alive!"

Al's mask re-closed again and he made his escape.

~ 0 ~

Later that same day, Cisco made a visit to Belén's home which, as he was seeing the woman in question planting a 'For sale' sign on the front yard, was about to become ex-home.

"Uuh, what are you doing?" Cisco came to a stop with an incredulous look.

Belén finished sticking the pole into the ground and looked back, clapping her hands to rid of dust. "Putting a sign up?"

"Wh-why?" Cisco's voice broke with incredible emotion that for a moment Belén laughed.

"Cisco, I'm moving to a smaller apartment - not out of the city of course."

"Oh thank God!" Cisco put a hand over his chest and came up to her, dramatically sighing. "I don't need this, you know!"

Belén rolled her eyes. "Cisco, c'mon! Think I would leave the city without telling you?" Cisco tilted his head at her, reminding her that she had in fact done that already. "Okay, I wouldn't do that _anymore_. I found a place, okay?"

"You did? And you didn't tell us?" Cisco feigned a heavy offence.

Belén lightly punched him on the arm. "Stop that!"

Cisco sobered up and saw Axel playing on the front porch with a couple of toys. Belén became serious and started to clean up the mess the sign on the yard had left.

"It's just hard to live here, Cisco," she said suddenly. "I lost my Dad, my sister and my twin. The house is just full of reminders. Plus-" she glanced at him, "-it's a lot cheaper to live in an apartment."

"Bells you know if you need anything you can ask me right?"

Belén smiled softly. "Of course. Now, since I know you're supposed to be at work, can I ask what you needed?"

Immediately a cheekish smile spread across Cisco's face. "So, actually, Joe and I have been looking into our new metahuman-"

"Even though I would assume Barry told you all 'no'?"

"Exactly-" Cisco nodded and went on, "-but Iris mentioned that when the guy went all high and tall, all the nearby x-ray machines totally, like, failed. So i think maybe there's something connected there."

"Reasonable," Belén concluded. "Uh, but, where do I come in?"

"Well, I really need to see Cait but I doubt she'll approve of me getting into Mercury Labs if I tell her beforehand what I'm planning so...could you come with me?"

"You want a free pass into Mercury Labs," Belén couldn't help chuckled. She always had a free entrance into Mercury Labs since her father used to work there.

"C'mon! Dr. McGee practically loves you and let's you waltz in right past through security any time you want. It would be a lot easier if you came."

"Cisco," Belén shook her head at him but couldn't stop laughing.

"Please come with me?" Cisco clapped his hands together to plead with her.

"Cisco…" Belén looked back at her nephew on the porch, "I have plans with Iris for lunch. She's gonna take Axel for the night since my show is in about-" she checked her phone's time, "-four hours. So I have no one to look after Axel right now."

"Bring him along, then!" Cisco easily devised the solution. "Caitlin is a sucker for kids. One big smile from Axel and we're good to go." Belén was still reluctant however. She hadn't exactly seen Caitlin since the singularity killed her husband. "Bells, please. The last fight had Barry thrown right into a cop's car-"

"Is he okay!?" Belén reacted fast and worried.

For a moment, Cisco wanted to smile, but if he did he knew the chances of Belén coming with him would go scarce. "He's fine, but next time he may not get so lucky. This guy can go Hulk if you know what I mean. So it would really help if we can get to Caitlin."

With that explanation, how could Belén say no? Of course she wanted to help, even if Barry didn't want it. "Let me just grab Axel a jacket," she said and rushed off into the house.

Cisco did a small punch in the air as she ran off.

~0~

In such a professional workspace, the last thing Caitlin expected to hear was a child's laughter in the hallway. The moment she looked up from her microscope, she saw Cisco, Belén and Axel walking into the lab. Cisco was instantly awed by the various machinery in the room. Belén could care less what was inside the room - she was more interested and quieting down the child with her.

"That is the last time Dr. McGee gives you a lollipop," she mumbled and walked him and herself up to Caitlin. "Hi Caitlin."

Caitlin smiled at the woman, and the child. "Hi Belén. Axel."

"Hi, Caitlin!" he exclaimed back and gasped at the wall full of funny porthole-like windows on the wall behind Caitlin. "Ooh!" he snatched his hand from Belén's and ran up to them.

At the same time, Cisco did the same and followed after him. "Sweet Sarek. Is that a 6K proton splicer?"

"A what-what now?" Belén crossed her arms.

Caitlin chuckled. "Yes, it is. Dr. McGee insists on having all the latest technology."

"Wow," Cisco looked back with a goofy smile on his face. "You deserve it."

"Cisco?" Belén called and pointed at Axel next to him who was trying to stick his lollipop into a hole of machine.

"You ruined your lollipop!" Cisco swiped the kid off the floor and brought him back to his aunt. "I spotted you, at the rally today, and I'm guessing you saw what happened," he said to Caitlin who sighed in return

"Cisco, I can't come back."

"Trust me," Belén bitterly laughed, "Barry wouldn't want you there anyways."

Cisco felt awkwardness begin to settle in the room and decided to change the topic for the real reason they were there in the first place. "Okay, check this out: we found this-" he pulled a Ziploc bag from his pocket that held a small, metal squared object inside, "-on a victim at the nuclear power plant, but the badge shows absolutely nothing at all, which is so weird. What's also weird is that at the same time that meta-human grew, all the x-ray machines within a mile radius just went belly-up."

Caitlin politely let him talk, get it out of his system, but when she saw where he was headed she had to cut him off. If only she could. "Cisco-"

Cisco put the object on her desk, sliding towards her. "Just... if you could just... See if the badge was tampered with or something. I mean, if it's broken, or... Whatever. It'll really help."

Belén his her smile as Caitlin mocked a scolding face at Cisco. With her face, she moved over to the shelves opposite of them to get started on the task.

"I've gotta get going," Belén announced and set Axel on the floor, this time keeping his small hand in a tight hold. "Iris is waiting and I've got a busy, busy night."

Caitlin remembered and called to her just as she turned to leave. "Thank you for the invitation."

Belén glanced back, "You know the public's invited. I just made it my business to make sure and invite my friends specifically."

Caitlin smiled nonetheless. "Still. I know I haven't been good at keeping connections with everyone, but…" and even as she fought against it, her eyes teared up.

"Cait, it's okay," Belén came back to give her a hug. "I understand that process - grieving and mourning is difficult. We get it. We all do."

Caitlin saw Cisco also giving her a nod of agreement. She smiled at both of them and promised she would be there at the community theater just like the rest.

~0~

Because Jitters was still out of business from the singularity - though there were rumors someone was apparently constructing it again during nights - Iris had chosen another small cafe shop to eat lunch at. She and Belén had taken to going there during their lunch breaks, even getting to know some of the employees there. Iris was already sitting at a booth when she saw Belén and Axel coming in. Belén was holding a small backpack meant to hold all of Axel's belongings Iris would need for the night. She wasn't quite sure what Axel would throw at her but she was insistent with Belén to leave the boy with her for the night while Belén celebrated her night. Iris just wanted to help Belén in any way that she could. She couldn't imagine taking on a four year old and adding a second job was easy.

"Sorry we're a bit late," Belén ushered Axel into the booth. "I had to go with Cisco to Mercury Labs and then someone-" she threw a look to Axel who was already reaching for a menu on the table, "-couldn't decide if he wanted to bring along Woody or Buzz Lightyear."

Axel could feel his aunt's eyes on him and made his defense. "They re my favorite!"

"Always go with Woody," Iris wagged a finger at Axel who giggled in return.

"I took both!" he informed excitedly. "Aunt Belén says you don't have toys anymore."

"I'm sure we can dig through Barry's things and find something," Iris promised and looked at her friend. "Did I hear you went to Mercury Labs with Cisco?"

"Uh, yeah," Belén reached for a menu and started to skim through it. "He said something about needing Cait to look over a badge or something. Apparently it connects back to your metahuman problem."

" _Our_ metahuman problem," Iris corrected.

Belén lowered the menu and, with a face, "Barry would disagree."

"Well, that needs to change," Iris retorted but Belén scoffed.

"Good luck."

Iris was a bit annoyed to see Belén in such indifference. She knew it was a fake. It _had_ to be. Belén wouldn't stop caring like that no matter how much she tried.

"Belén, you can help us changing his mind-"

"I can't do anything anymore, remember?" Belén interjected seriously. "That's what happens when a couple breaks up. You, though, you're his sister, you can help him more than anyone." Belén shifted uncomfortably and went back to reading off the menu.

"I don't care what you nor Barry say, I _know_ you still care, both of you."

Belén's eyes flickered up from the menu. "He talks about me still?" Iris made a 'duh' face in return. "Iris...it doesn't matter anymore. You want him to stop going out there alone? Then stop listening to him for God's sake! He keeps pushing you all away because you _let_ him. It gets easier when you stop pushing."

Iris' eyes blinked fast for a couple of seconds before she got an idea. "Oh my god, you are a genius. I should have came to you months ago!"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes. When the waitress came by, she ordered Axel a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad for herself. Iris ordered herself a chicken sandwich.

"I miss soda so much," Belén dramatically sighed as she passed Axel a child's cup of soda.

Iris smiled in amusement. She knew Belén was eating light for her show in a couple of hours, but over the months of training she had to eat healthier in order to be able to perform at her top shape.

"And donuts - man I really miss donuts," Belén shook her head.

"Just one more night," Iris reminded for support.

Belén nodded and took a breath. "I'm actually really nervous. What if I mess up the dance?"

"Hey, you will be perfect!" Iris shut down any thoughts like those. "My dad, Axel and I will be there front row, right Axel?"

"Yes!" Axel nodded and took a sip from his soda.

"Caitlin agreed to come too," Belén shared with a small smile.

"Oh my god, that's great!" Iris felt this could truly be the returning to normal she really wanted to see. "We'll be there, don't worry."

And she didn't say it out loud but she knew Barry wouldn't miss it either. He had always been curious of how the whole aerial dancing worked to begin with. Knowing Belén was the _star_ of the show, there was no way he would skip out on it.

Iris' phone rang and when she pulled it out from her purse she showed it to Belén. "It's a text from Cisco."

"What's he say?" Belén wondered.

"Caitlin came through with the examination apparently. There was a connection like I thought." Iris looked up expecting to see more interest from Belén, but there was none. "The metahuman uses radiation or something to fuel his powers," Iris tried again in a different pitch but still Belén did nothing. "Do you just not care anymore?" Iris frowned.

"Who cares?" Belén tried. "Not like I'll be working there. And even if you follow my advice, what then? Will I just waltz in-"

"Yes! Yes you will!" Iris found herself near shouting that she stopped talking for a moment to better collect herself. "You should," she began after a minute and in a quieter tone, "Because Barry needs you." Belén began to shake her head but Iris was never one to give up. "He says he doesn't but he does. I know it. My dad knows it. Cisco knows it. _Barry_ knows it." Iris sighed, hating to be so insistent but someone had to do it. "You need him too. Don't you care about him?"

Belén's indifference faltered for a split second - and Iris thought it was enough to break through - before she murmured an excuse of having to go use the restroom.

~0~

Following Iris' advice, she, Cisco, Joe and professor Stein met up at STAR Labs to discuss what Caitlin had provided Cisco with. Almost five minutes after getting into the computers, Barry got the alert and sped over thinking someone tried breaking in.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, slightly breathless.

Iris looked up from the computer Cisco was showing them on. "Working," she said like it was obvious.

"So, Caitlin was right," Cisco said after professor Stein looked over the information.

"Yes, all humans contain small amounts of radiation due to contact with cell phones, microwaves, televisions, et cetera," Stein replied. "Our bodies are natural conductors."

Cisco thought out loud. "I think our meta's been sucking up all the radiation around him and using it to power himself."

Iris understood and gasped. "Which is why the x-ray machines at the hospital failed the day of the rally."

"So if we want to find him, we gotta look for places without radiation!" Cisco concluded and delved on a computer, suddenly missing it so much.

"Alright, guys, I don't want any of you here right now," Barry motioned them they could leave. However this time, they were all acting on Belén's advice.

"Tough. You need your partners," Joe pointed at him. "You need your friends."

Iris looked up again and walked over to Barry. "Barry, everyone in this room cares about you, but we also care about this city. We all want to make a difference, and that means fighting meta-humans, and that means working with the Flash. You can't deny us that. Not anymore."

Cisco suddenly cheered. "Got him! There's a three block dead zone near a hazardous waste reclamation plant. It should be blooming with rads, and right now it's at zero!"

"That's where you'll find your atom smasher!" Stein exclaimed so excitedly. "Because he absorbs atomic power, and he, well, smashes."

Cisco seemed in awe of the man. "Come here!" he embraced Stein in a tight hug.

"That's a great name. Welcome to the team!"

Impatient Barry tried yet again to make them leave. "Great, guys, thank you. You can go now, all right?"

"Barry, you need to let Cisco and Stein figure out a way to stop this guy-" Joe began but, now irritated they weren't listening to him Barry cut him off.

"No, I don't!" he sped off with his suit.

Cisco picked up a small ear device from the desk that hadn't been there a moment ago. "Barry left his comm system behind. We can't talk to him. He's on his own."

Indeed Barry had gone off alone to find Al again. The metahuman turned out to be exactly where Cisco had said. But in the cortex, they weren't prepared to let Barry stay on his own. Cisco looked for security cameras to help them see what Barry was doing.

Barry used a whirlwind move on Al but only mildly pushed Al back. Seeing it hadn't worked, Barry went in to punch him. Al grabbed an upperhand and struck Barry around the collarbone. He rolled into the ground and before he could even blink, Al seized him by the neck and slammed him against a brick wall... _repeatedly._.

It proved that he did need his friends. Because back there, they managed to get into the alarm system and activated it to give Barry the distraction he needed to get away.

He sped back into the STAR Labs building, coming to a stumbling stop in the corridor. He stumbled side to side, his head feeling like it was still being slammed against a wall. With no control, Barry collapsed to the floor. Seconds later, the others emerged to help him.

"Oh my God!" Iris watched as her father and Cisco picked the unconscious Barry off the ground and headed for the cortex. Without thinking, she rushed for her purse and pulled out her phone.

~0~

Belén sat on a makeup and hair chair watching as the stylist gently placed a flower crown with big, hot-pink Azaleas around it over her hair. She heard her phone ringing on the table and reached to answer it.

"Hello?" Belén was cautious in placing her phone over her ear. The hairstyle was a nifty one that still needed to settle with the hairspray.

"Belén, you gotta get over here!" Iris began to shout on the other line.

"What? Go where?" Belén frowned. She mouthed a 'thank you' to the stylist and waited for her to go before continuing with Iris on the phone. "Iris, please stop shouting I can't understand you!"

"It's that metahuman I told you earlier! Barry didn't listen to us and went to fight him-"

"Is he okay?" Belén got up from her chair and turned away from the mirror. "Iris?"

"He's, well...he's outcold, but he got hit real bad. And on the head!"

Belén sighed, feeling her heart clench as she felt Iris' distress. "Is he going to be okay…?"

"I don't know. Probably. With his fast healing. But, we think it may be awhile until he wakes up again."

Belén bit her lip and glanced at the clock striking seven.

"Belén, I know you still care," Iris spoke after a moment of silence. "That's why I called you."

"Iris, I can't do this anymore…" Belén shook her head. "I can't...I can't keep listening to the same thing over and over. It's done. Barry and I are _done_."

"Yeah, well, if that was true then you wouldn't still be on the line with me," Iris cleverly responded with. "Barry's going to be outcold for a while. Do what you want with that information." She hung up after that, leaving Belén to ponder.

She looked at the clock on the wall again. Clutching her phone to her chest, she thought long and hard.

~ 0 ~

Joe remained alone sitting beside Barry's unconscious body in the cortex. Everyone else had gone off to get ready for Belén's show, but he had opted to remain back for when Baryr woke up he wouldn't be alone. When he heard someone clearing their throat he half-expected Iris to be there but instead found Belén there.

"Belén?" he rose from his chair, staring at the woman questionably.

She had come in with a styled hair, loose curls around her face and a tilted Azalea flower crown over her head. "Hi…" she greeted nervously, her eyes drifting to Barry behind him. "Um, Iris called...and she...she said something about Barry fighting a metahuman?"

"Oh, yeah. He won't stop doing things alone," Joe sighed and glanced back at Barry. "I don't know how else to get through to him."

"He's stubborn like that," Belén slowly came forwards.

"Yeah, he is." Joe looked back at her. "Aren't you supposed to be doing that...show thing?"

"Yes, in about thirty minutes," Belén nodded her head. She managed to sneak out of the theater without anyone catching her, but by now they were probably going crazy trying to find her.

"And you came here?" Joe raised an eyebrow at the sheepish woman. "For Barry?"

"I'm crazy like that," Belén turned her pink-nailed hands to her palms. "Do you mind if I, uh…" she pointed at Barry, "I promise I'll be like five minutes max. I gotta get back fast."

"Yeah, no, go ahead!" Joe quickly made himself sparse. With any luck, Barry would wake up while she was there and listen to her.

Belén waited for him to leave before she went up to Barry's side. She sat down on Joe's chair and looked at Barry. "Look at where are now," she sighed. She reached for her flower crown that was threatening to fall and pulled it off her head, placing it on the small metal table beside the bed. "I keep telling them all that I don't care anymore but apparently I'm not a good liar. I do care, Barry, and still so much." She raised her head and revealed reddish eyes. "It's been six months and it still breaks my heart that you decided for both of us we're better off without each other."

* * *

" _How could you think that, Barry!?" Belén practically screamed at him. She watched Barry pace back and forth in her living room. "How could you think that I would ever agree with this!?"_

" _Belén, it's for the best!" Barry stopped to look at her. He had to force himself to look at her while she cried because of him. "Look at you - every time you cry it's because of something that I did. I don't...I can't do that to you anymore."_

" _That's not true!" Belén continued to shout._

" _I failed at doing the one thing that would end up helping you as much as it would have me. I didn't change the time line and now my mother's dead, my father's in jail." Barry reached for her arms. "I...couldn't bring back your dad, I let your sister go to jail and your brother's in a coma. Nothing changed."_

" _Barry, **please** ," Belén's voice broke. "I **need** you."_

" _Soon, you won't," Barry promised her, his own heart breaking with those words. It was going to be hard staying away from her, letting her move on from him, but he felt it was the right thing to do. "I'm sorry, Bells, but people died because of me...and the last thing I **ever** want to see is the same thing to happen to you." He kissed her forehead and looked down at her. "I want you to be happy."_

 _Belén felt his hands leave her arms after. "Barry?" he shook his head and made his way for the front door. Belén turned around and watched with tears in her eyes as he walked out._

* * *

In the present, Belén was struggling to control her tears. She couldn't ruin her makeup or else she really would get it later. "I got it now, what you were trying to do. I didn't agree with it - I still don't - but I understood what you wanted. The day you stop blaming yourself for things that you had no control of will be the day I can finally understand science." She shook her head and rose from her chair. Her hand reached for one of Barry's and it suddenly felt like she was at home again. "I miss you, Barry. I _do_ care, but it doesn't matter I guess." She gripped his hand for a moment then let it go. "You know-" she bit her lip as a small, bitter smile spread across her face, "-tonight was the night I was supposed to say goodbye to the Azalea and bury her for good...but I decided I didn't want to do that. Instead, I guess I'm saying goodbye to _you_." She stifled a sob and bit the inside of her cheek. Pressing a hand to the bed, she leaned to Barry and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Barry."

It was like she was making an escape with the way she rushed out of the room. Her tears were beginning to fall so she had to keep patting the sides of her eyes. She just wouldn't look back anymore.

Joe returned to the cortex a while later. He came back to his chair and spotted the Azalea flower crown Belén accidentally left behind. There passed fifteen minutes of utter silence before Barry gasped awake.

"Hey!" Joe quickly set out to make sure he was fine.

"Where is everyone?" Barry breathed heavily as he returned to normal. The last thing he remembered was escaping Al's wrath, but that had only been by a bare minimum.

"They're all at the city's theater," Joe cleared his throat. "It's near eight."

"Right…" of course Barry remembered what was on tonight. He had made plans to sneak in and get a glimpse of the star.

"You're not gonna do this anymore," Joe announced after a minute. "For the last six months I've given you your space to work all this out, come back to us. But today proved that you'd rather just get yourself killed."

Barry stared up at the ceiling and bitterly laughed. "It's better than getting my friends killed."

Joe expected that sort of answer and shook his head. "You want me to tell you that it wasn't your fault? I can't. It was. Guess what? You weren't the only person making decisions that day. All of the rest of us were there too. Eddie and Ronnie, they chose to help you stop Wells, and stop that…"

"Singularity," Barry said for him.

"Singularity thing. It's on all of us, Barry. So stop with this hogging all the blame and regret. We gotta live with it. _Move on_."

A single tear strolled down Barry's cheek. "What do I do now?"

"Well, I know that you've been rebuilding Central City at night. It's just bricks and paint. Maybe you should start trying to rebuild…" Joe reached for the flower crown and held it for Barry to see, "...things that really matter."

For a moment, Barry was confused to find that there. His eyes trailed the Azaleas and soon enough he made his own theories. Joe handed the crown over to Barry who took it with such delicacy. He stared at it long and hard; his heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

~ 0 ~

The theater had created an Azalea themed show to give tribute to the fallen metahuman. In the front row there was Iris, Axel, Cisco, Caitlin, even professor Stein and his wife Clarissa had gotten prime seats. They all got to watch their friend climb and swing on bright silk in a graceful manner. It was truly amazing to see people so balanced enough to hold their entire bodies using only one silk. Ones would twist on their feet, another would drop in a rapid unwinding manner, etc.

Barry appeared midway through the show, but as Iris had predicted it was without letting others know; he chose to remain in the back towards the sidelines. The last thing he wanted was to break Belén's focus. His heart nearly leaped out from his chest when he would see her take those consecutive falls down. He truly felt like at one point she would slip and actually fall to the floor...but she proved to be just that talented. His eyes followed her every movement. At one point, she'd done an incredible ankle hang which consisted of her hanging upside down with a silk wrapped around _one_ ankle. She pulled her upper body down, making one thing it had to have hurt her body at some point but the truth was she'd been practicing really hard to get the move right. And judging by the cheers of the crowd, she'd done good. Her last act had her sitting back up then pushing herself to once again be on her toes. She twirled herself various times then let herself swing backwards, eventually swinging upside down using only her feet.

Barry may or may not have lost it thinking she would fall. _You're trying to kill me_ , he swallowed hard.

They were nearing the end of the show, and in all that time Barry had not let his eyes focus on anything that was not Belén. She looked beautiful, absolutely beautiful and at home doing what she loved to do. She seemed happy, and for a moment Barry thought himself selfish for trying to come back to her.

Had he not been so focused on her, he might have seen a hooded figure on the other side of the audience walking in.

Belén swung the silk around her left thigh and used it to twirl. She passed the silk over her waistline then gently twirled again. She did a fast-paced, final twirl and began to climb her way upwards. Just as she made to wrap the silk around her again there was a loud gunshot that rang in the room. Immediately she felt something crash into her left arm, just above her elbow. She let out a shaky gasp as she used both her hands to hold onto the silk. With the pain coursing through her arm, her strength wasn't quite enough for a strong hold. In the crowd there was duress as everyone tried to figure out who had fired. Iris had grabbed Axel and held him impossibly close while Barry began to scope out the area.

But the hooded figure shot again and this time it went for Belén's collarbone, effectively knocking her backwards.

Barry sped towards the stage and caught her in time. He stopped outside the theater and looked at her shaking body. "Bells?"

Despite being in crucial pain, Belén managed to express her shock of seeing him. "B-Barry? You...you came - ah!" she threw her head back with a groan.

"H-Hang on okay, I'm gonna get you to the hospital!" Barry sped off for the only hospital Belén could safely be admitted into.

~ 0 ~

What seemed like hours later, Dr. Nina Clarke walked into the hospital's waiting room where Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Iris (with a sleeping Axel in her arms) anxiously waited to get word on their friend. It had been a mess getting out of the theater with all the cops and the witnesses. Joe had remained on site to personally get the details while the rest headed to the hospital to see their friend. The entire audience had seen 'the Flash' take the show's lead away and so the aerial team was a bit more comfortable thinking their teammate would be good.

"Hey," Barry was the first to see Nina and quickly rushed up to her. He hadn't been able to sit down like the others. "H-how is she?"

"She's gonna have a hell of pain for some time but she'll be fine," Nina said to everyone's relief. "The bullets didn't get far so nothing important has been damaged. She'll just have some patches and probably will have to restrain the use of her left arm."

"But sh-she'll be completely fine?" Barry needed to hear that nothing would happen to Belén.

"She'll be just fine," Nina confirmed. "And no one here knows anything about her meta powers, alright? Did the records myself."

"Thanks," Barry said. In the moment, he probably could have let Caitlin help Belén, but it would've been a lot harder since everything at STAR Labs was effectively put away except his suit.

"Can we see her?" Caitlin inquired from Nina, getting up from her spot beside Iris.

"Yes, but not too many people," Nina warned them.

"Promise," Cisco raised a hand.

Nina smiled but as she looked around she grew serious. She made a motion with her hand for them to get close. When they did, she got to business. "What actually happened out there? I thought it was just a theater show?"

"It was meant to be," Cisco muttered. "But then someone shot her - twice!"

"I couldn't see anyone from where I was," Barry shook his head.

"And none of us saw anyone either," Caitlin added.

Nina sighed at Belén's luck. "Well, I hope they catch that person. Belén was really excited to get back on stage. She deserved better." With that, she left the group to continue her shift.

"I'm gonna go see Bells," Cisco declared and glanced at Barry to see if it was fine. When Barry gave a nod, Cisco took Caitlin with him into the hallway for Belén's room.

Barry turned back to sit next to Iris when they both saw Joe coming into the room. "Hey," Barry hurried to meet the older man, "So, did you get him?"

"No," Joe shook his head and felt bad as the other two sighed.

"Did you at least get clues?" Iris asked.

"There were a couple of witnesses saying they saw a man in a black mask and hoodie walking out of the theater-"

"That's Al Rothstein," Barry said instantly, his hatred for the new metahuman multiplying tenfold. "It's got to be."

Joe nodded in agreement. He had thought the same thing when he got the descriptions from the witnesses.

"I'm gonna get him," Barry gritted his teeth together and made a move for the exit.

Joe grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "You are not going anywhere."

"Joe, he _shot_ -"

"I know what he did. Everyone knows what he did. But you are not going to go after him until we have a good, clear plan," Joe said and looked at Iris for some backup.

The woman nodded her head. "He's right, Barry. You're just gonna get yourself hurt and when Belén wakes up you won't be there. Is that what you want?"

Barry, frustrated, turned away from the two. "No," he muttered.

"Then please, sit down and wait for Cisco and Caitlin to come back so we can go in and see Bells."

Like a child, Barry did as told and took a seat next to Iris.

"I'm gonna go give a call to Detective Greene," Joe turned to leave when Barry called to him, getting up as well.

"Wait, you're calling Belén's mom?"

"Uh, yeah," Joe thought it was a given that it was going to happen. "If my kid was shot I'd like to know too."

"Yeah, it's just...Bells doesn't have the best relationship with her…"

"Veronica can be whatever Belén wants, but she still is the mother and she deserves to know what happened to her daughter." Joe gave his last word on that topic and walked away.

"He's right," Iris said after a moment. Barry turned around and went back for his seat. As he delve his face into his hands, Iris stared at him. "So? What are you gonna do?"

Barry raised his head to meet her questionable face. "What?"

Iris nodded towards the hallway, regarding Belén. "You just saw her getting shot - twice - and you're not thinking about how to talk with her now?"

"It's a bit difficult after six months," Barry argued and took in a breath. "What am I supposed to say? 'Oh, hey Bells, sorry for once again letting one of my enemies hurt you. Other than that, how are you?'" he shot Iris a sharp look.

"You cannot be blaming yourself for that," Iris shook her head. She really should have seen that one coming. "You don't even know what Al was planning. He doesn't know who Belén is, remember?"

"Then why else would he go after her specifically?" Barry asked, wishing he knew that answer.

"I don't know," Iris came up blank as well. "Maybe he heard that the show was in honor of the Flash's supposed deceased partner and he thought if he made an appearance you would be there."

"I'm gonna find him...and he's gonna pay," Barry swore, clenching one fist.

Iris smiled and looked ahead. _About damn time_ , she thought.

~ 0 ~

As Nina had warned the group later in the night, Belén had not regained consciousness for the entire night and following morning. She missed out on the various visitors that came to see how she was doing. Among those were her old college friends, her aerial team and Linda Park from CC Picture News. She slept through it all.

It was midday when she finally gave signs of life apart from her beeping machine beside her. Her fingers twitched as she drew in the breath she always took before waking up.

Her vision was a bit blurry till she blinked it away. When she did, she found Barry sitting on a chair beside her bed. It took her a moment to deduce that this was indeed real and not some sort of dream.

"Bells?" Barry saw her confused expressions and worried there was something wrong with her. "Belén? Can you hear me?"

Belén's gaze fixated on him and for a moment all she did was stare, her eyes squinting.

"There's something wrong," Barry deduced, nodding to himself and moving to get up from his chair. "I'm going to go call Nina."

Belén had to salivate her unused mouth in order to croak his name and stop him. The moment she tried to move she felt a sharp jab at her on her arm and collarbone. "Oh!"

Barry instinctively turned around and ran back. "Hey! Don't try to move, okay?"

"Oooh…" she scrunched her nose and turned her head to her left side, looking down at the large white patch sticking out from under her hospital gown. "What the hell…?"

"Do you not remember what happened?" Barry wondered if the entire thing had passed so fast that she hadn't retained it. He pulled his chair closer and sat down, reaching out to make sure she wouldn't move anymore.

"I was…" she looked to the side, "...dancing...I think."

"Yeah, you were. You were performing, remember?"

"But there was, um, uh...there was a…"

"A gunshot," Barry said for her and elicited a quick look from her. "Someone shot you, twice."

"Of course," Belén sighed. "That's the only way you'd talk to me again."

Barry felt the jab at his heart he knew he deserved so much. "Bells…"

"Because it's always like that, isn't it?" she slowly looked at him again. "I have to be near death for you to speak to me after some fight."

"You have every right to be mad with me-"

"I'm not mad, Barry," Belén sighed and looked away for a moment. "I was in the beginning. I was _so_ mad at you. But then, after a while...I understood your reasons - I didn't agree with them - but I knew what you were trying to do. Even though-" she sarcastically glanced at him, "-it was the stupidest thing ever."

"Yeah, it was," Barry agreed with a fast nod of his head. "But I was trying to keep you safe, to make sure that you were happy."

"Do I _look_ happy?" came the rapid snap.

"You looked incredibly happy when you were dancing."

Belén turned her head at him, staring in silence. "You were there?"

"I was there," Barry started to smile as he remembered her ethereal dances. "You were stunning. I have never seen talent like that before." There was a creep of a blush settling over Belén's face as she listened to his praises. "You were the star of the show - everyone loved you. I loved seeing you like that, happy while you did what you wanted. It's exactly what I wanted to see from you."

"That wasn't a decision you had the right to make," Belén whispered. "I was happy doing the aerial dancing, course, because it was something I always loved to do. But to say that I'm truly happy is a lie. I'm not."

"But you were, I saw you," Barry insisted. "You went out with your friends...you laughed, you smiled…" he would not add the parts where he was sure she was beginning to date that Mark.

"They were my friends, what was I supposed to do?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "Dump my problems on them? That's what my therapist is for. You made a decision that did not involve just you, period. You were wrong. You still are. Do you know that I said goodbye to you yesterday? Before my show? I actually left to go see you after you fought that metahuman...and I said my goodbye because I thought I deserved better than to mope for someone who didn't care anymore-"

"Hey, you can be mad but I never stopped caring about you," Barry made a point to correct and leave clarified.

"You didn't care enough to take my feelings into consideration," Belén's voice cracked. "I lost people and instead of just being there for me, you decided to break up with me? Who does that?" she cleared off some tears from her face with her good arm. "For a genius, you're pretty stupid."

Barry had to smile a bit at her last insult that had been more playful than actually insulting. It meant he still had a shot. "I am," he agreed. "And I wanna make things right. I messed up _hugely_ with you. But I care. I really do. And I may be late but I would really like a second chance with you."

She could not deny that she wouldn't like to have him back, but something prevented her from telling him that right away. She rubbed some tears off her cheek and sighed. "I need to think about it."

The fact she hadn't accepted as fast as he'd like put Barry on edge. What if he had been late? What if she was already moving on from him? If that was the case then he would have to accept it, no doubt.

"I just...I spent six months trying to get over you," she tried to explain her indecision. "I need to think. Please."

"Yeah, no, don't worry," Barry put on his best face for her, leaning away from her. "I get it. I do." And he truly did. He knew he was taking a big chance asking for her to take him back, and he expected a harder challenge. It just didn't stop it from hurting.

Belén could see the disappointment in his eyes and felt bad. But she just couldn't blatantly go back to him.

~ 0 ~

Later that day, while everyone attended to the new metahuman - without Belén's knowledge - Iris and Linda had come over to see her and spend time with her.

"These are some nice flowers," Linda had stopped by one of the tables against the wall where there were several pots of flowers and bouquets of them. "Are those Azaleas?" she eyed the hot pink flowers.

Iris sent a knowing smile at Belén who chuckled.

"Yeah, apparently the flower shops are really abundant with them at the moment," Belén responded the clueless Linda.

"Yeah," the woman turned around, "It's in honor of the Azalea or something."

Iris moved over to grab one of the chairs and pulled it beside Belén's bed. "So, I brought you your laptop so you can Netflix while you're here." Belén laughed as Iris pulled out her laptop and placed it on the small bed stand beside her. "And you don't have to worry about Axel, we're all going to look after him until you're back on your feet."

"Yeah, and your job is safe, don't worry," Linda added. Everyone at CC Picture News heard of their co-worker's accident and of course understood she would have to miss some days, probably weeks, as she recuperated.

"Thank you guys so much," Belén was able to release a true sigh of relief. Being stuck in bed with nothing but her thoughts really stressed her out as she got to thinking of all the bills and Axel and her job.

"Of course," Linda smiled and eyed her friend. "So, redundant question I know, but, how are you feeling?"

"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question today I would be rich enough to own half the city," Belén playfully rolled her eyes while the two women chuckled.

"I imagine you've had a lot of visitors," Iris hummed innocently while inspecting her nails. Belén thanked the heavens that Linda had come with Iris so that they would _not_ talk about Barry. That is the last thing she needed right now, honestly.

"Yeah but none of them brought chocolates-" Linda was once again eyeing the gifts brought, "-how rude. And cheap."

Belén genuinely laughed for the first time but only lasted a couple of seconds before it ended with groans due to her collarbone and arm burning. "Oh, maybe crack jokes later, please."

Linda apologized and pulled a chair to sit on the other side of the bed. "Okay, serious time now. Iris and I were going to write an article together-"

"You two?" Belén's eyes flickered from Linda to Iris. "But Linda, you do sports."

"I know, but this is a topic we're both interested in," Linda smiled at Iris, apparently the two already settled for it.

"And we want your input as well," Iris looked at Belén with a mischievous tint in her eyes. "It's about the Azalea."

Before Belén could even react, Linda went on to explain. "We thought since the theater didn't get to finish her tribute, maybe Iris and I could write a killer article that gives a proper goodbye to the Azalea."

Belén's eyebrows raised. _Goodbye_?

"We wanted your ideas," Linda said, anxiously waiting for Belén's response. "It would be the three us of on the byline for the first time. Do you want to do it?"

Belén had become silent as many thoughts rushed through her mind. Iris suddenly wondered if she and Linda had picked the wrong time to bring up the delicate topic with Belén. When Linda had talked to her about the idea of writing a last article for the Azalea, Iris was so sure that it was only right that the Azalea herself had a chance to be a part of it.

"Bells?" Iris softly called to her friend after Linda tried for a full minute. "Hey?" she reached for Belén's good arm and gently nudged. "Are you okay?"

Belén suddenly seemed determined when she nodded her head. "I want to do it," she declared. "And I already have an idea." Linda seemed happy she agreed and immediately asked what it was. Belén took a deep breath, knowing that when she spoke her next words there would be no going back. "I don't think the Azalea's dead at all."

There were two very different reactions in response. Iris seemed horrified of what Belén had said, her head tilted a bit to the side with a look on her face that just screamed 'what are you doing!?'. Meanwhile, Linda looked like she thought she had just heard wrong.

"Wh-what are you talking about, Belén?" she chuckled a bit. "We all know she's dead. We saw that hole, thing...and-"

"You saw the blackhole, and the Flash, but not the Azalea," Belén corrected. "I mean...everyone is fixated on the idea that the Azalea died trying to help the Flash save the day when in reality we don't know what happened to her."

"Belén…" Iris whispered, "...are you...sure?"

Belén understood her question perfectly and nodded firmly. She was going to plant the seed of her eventual return.

"The Azalea is out there. And she's coming back."

~ 0 ~

Now with the full help of his friends, Barry had a plan to stop Al once and for all. Using a Batman-like symbol, he had lured Al into a random alleyway and was itching to get his well-needed revenge for Belén. He didn't care if Belén took him back or not - Al was going to pay for what he did to her.

"You want me?" he stepped towards Al with a cocky gesture. "You're gonna have to catch me."

Al smirked, thinking it was going to be an easy game. He needed to go home already. When Barry sped off, Al doubled his size and chased after him. Following Cisco's plan, Barry moved into a local nuclear plant that was active. Al slowed down his pace once Barry slowed down as well. The speedster slowly backed away down the room until he entered a glowing blue, tall, circular room/container.

"Didn't think I could catch you, huh?" Al kept his smug face.

"No, I knew you could," Barry responded in the same smug tone. "Now, Cisco!"

From STAR Labs, Cisco had hacked into the nuclear room's power system and activated the lockdown of the smaller room. Before the door slid shut, Barry sped out of it and left Al trapped inside. He watched as the room flooded radiation, causing a breakdown in Al as his body was unable to absorb it all. He returned to his regular size and collapsed on the floor.

"The radiation's been cleared. It's safe for you to go in," Cisco informed Barry through the earpod.

When the door re-opened, Barry stepped inside. He kept to the wall just in case Al burst with newfound energy. Although, Al was merely twitching and gasping on the floor which ruled that idea out.

"You're not hurting anyone else," Barry promised him as he bent down beside Al. " Why did you want to kill me?"

"He promised he'd take me home... if I killed you," Al answered through strained words.

"Who? Who promised you that?"

"Zoom."

Well, that made no sense. It sounded like Al named a television show. Barry discarded it in favor of something he truly cared about.

"And that girl you shot at the theater? Because I know that was you. Was that meant to be a trap?"

"No…" Al admitted without hesitation. He knew he wasn't making it either way. "It was a...test…"

"What!?" Barry had become even more furious. "What kind of test!? What for!? ANSWER ME!"

"For Datura," Al released a final breath before he died.

~ 0 ~

"I can't believe you did that," Iris closed the laptop between her and Belén after their series was over.

"The whole time we were watching Sense8 you were thinking about the Azalea?" Belén shot the woman a comical look.

"I'm sorry, but knowing that you plan to revive the Azalea is a bit to process!" Iris dramatically threw her hands in the air. "I mean, how are you gonna do that? The city thinks you've been dead for 6 months now."

"I have a plan," Belén promised. "I just need to pull some photos and add some theories. People love hearing theories."

Someone knocked on the open door of the room and sheepishly stepped in. "Good evening," Dr. Baeva greeted the two women politely.

"Dr. Baeva," Belén tried straightening up a bit on the bed to greet the woman but immediately regretted it. "Ow…"

"Belén, stop moving so much," Iris scolded, thinking by now Belén would've learned. She shook her head and reached for her purse sitting on the bed stand. "I should get going. Caitlin was looking after Axel but I thought him staying with me might be better for him."

"Thank you so much for looking after him," Belén couldn't stop repeating.

Iris chuckled. "Don't worry. I will be back tomorrow, okay?" she wagged a finger and Belén nodded. With a polite' goodbye' for Dr. Baeva, she left the room.

"I only just heard…" Dr. Baeva began as she made her way to Belén's side. "Dear Lord, how did this happen?"

Belén glanced at the door to see if any nurses or doctors were nearby before answering. "Apparently, it was the metahuman that attacked the Flash at the city's rally." When Iris had shared the group's belief of the culprit, Belén couldn't finish understanding what _she_ had to do with the metahuman's problems.

"Of course," Dr. Baeva sighed lightly. "So I imagine your friends have regrouped to see you?"

"Yeah," Belén nodded. If there was one thing she could say she was happy about was that this event had pulled her friends back together. "Even Caitlin had come by, and she hasn't spoken to any of us." Dr. Baeva was glad to hear of it. Belén hesitated to say her next thoughts, as this was not a session moment.

But, having seen her for six months, three times a week, had allowed Dr. Baeva to pick up when Belén was keeping things back. "You know, despite it not being technically a session, I am still bound by my patient's confidentiality contract." Belén's eyes drifted away, even more willing to speak. "I could ask how you're doing and probably annoy you with the question I'm sure you have heard plenty for today."

"I have," Belén mumbled and sighed. "I'm confused," she began. Dr. Baeva smiled to herself and took a seat where Iris had been. "Barry came by...and he actually talked to me. Like...sentences, thoughts...feelings," she added very quietly.

"Oh, and that's not good?" Dr. Baeva crossed a leg, looking like this was her office and Belén was visiting on her usual schedule.

"No, yeah, it...it was," Belén nodded. "See, yesterday I actually visited him...while he was...asleep-" she had to leave it at that and not mention his other identity, "-and I said goodbye. I went there thinking that I could let go of him." She swallowed hard, letting a couple of seconds passed by before she spoke again. "But then he came in today - actually Iris says he stayed the night and morning - and he talked, he explained...and he asked for a second chance."

Dr. Baeva didn't look too surprised it had happened in this way given the circumstances. Belén looked distraught with her confusion. "What exactly did you say?" she inquired from the metahuman.

"That I needed to think," Belén answered shyly. "I-I couldn't see myself saying 'yeah, Barry, let's just get back together like nothing ever happened'. It's not fair."

"So…you didn't say 'yes' because you didn't think it's fair?" Dr. Baeva asked plainly, but Belén took it a different way.

"Not like that! I mean…" Belén shut her eyes for a moment.

"You know I am not here to judge you," Dr. Baeva reminded when she felt like Belén was hesitating to speak again. "I simply review what you said."

"I don't think it's fair that after six months of ignoring me he comes back asking to be taken back," Belén said it loud and clear. That was what she felt, and if it was wrong then so be it.

"So then you're still mad about your breakup?"

"I think so, yeah," Belén admitted with a nod of her head.

"Okay, now do you think there is a chance that...you could accept a new relationship with Barry ever again?"

"...I want to," Belén also found herself admitting. "I do want to, but...but I don't...I don't want things to be like they used to."

Dr. Baeva tilted her head, trying to understand what that meant. "How do you mean 'like they used to be'?"

"Exactly what I said. You pointed out that I felt dependent on Barry for my well being, and I don't want that anymore," Belén shook her head. "Six months I tried getting rid of that, and I feel like I've done a good job."

"Belén, is it possible that perhaps you're primarily rejecting the idea of getting back together because you are afraid that your independant development will unravel?"

Belén looked down, only taking a moment to realize the answer was yes. "I do want to be with him...but not like before. I don't want him to always want to protect me."

"I think you are doing very well, Belén," Dr. Baeva genuinely smiled. "Six months ago you came to me wishing nothing but to get things back the way they used to be. Now you want to change for your benefit. But just remember, wanting to be with a man does not mean you are relinquishing your independence. You are human, Belén, and humans long to be with someone whether it's friends or family, or someone intimate. It's okay to want to be with someone. And it's also okay to let them try to protect you."

"Is it?" Belén asked with heavy doubt.

"Of course. Just because someone who cares about you tried to protect you doesn't mean you are suddenly dependent on them. It means they care for you that much. It's human nature to want to protect those we care about, no matter what our relationships are."

A warm smile spread across Belén's face. "Thank you, Dr. Baeva. I needed to hear that," she admitted. The psychologist smiled back, glad she had once again helped the metahuman.

Belén had her company leave after an hour or so, and she went back to Netflix. Nina came in when she could to see how she was doing, or sometimes just to chat. It was late when she had company again, but it still warmed her heart that he would come back despite her words.

"Hey," Barry walked in holding a small card by the looks of it.

"Hi," she greeted quietly.

"I'm only here to visit again," he raised his free hand in a solemn swear. Belén had to laugh. "And Axel made sure that I would give you this." He held out the closed card for her.

With her good arm, Belén took it and opened it with her fingers. Inside was nothing but scribbles with a prominent big round face with lines for eyes and a smile. "Axel," Belén had to laugh again.

"He's fine for tonight," Barry promised. "Iris knew just how to put him to sleep."

"Thank you," Belén said seriously.

"And listen, I came to tell you that the metahuman that did this to you is gone. He's not hurting you again."

"I don't understand why he wanted to hurt me in the first place."

Barry sighed, frustrated neither he nor the group could figure it out. "I don't know, but I'm gonna find out. I promise you."

Belén felt her stomach churn in that way it almost always did with him. Yeah, she missed that.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Barry dug into his jean's pocket, "Axel gave me a toy to go with that-" he pointed at the card, "-think it was a bouncy ball or something."

"Aw," Belén said, "He gave me his bouncy ball? He loves that thing."

Barry laughed as he finally pulled out the blue and white bouncy ball from his pocket. As he did, Belén heard a clang hit the floor.

"What's that?" she took the bouncy ball and tried peering over the bed.

Barry saw it was the white USB Wells' attorney gave him earlier in the day. "Ah, it's uh…" he quickly ventured to pick it up.

"Um, doesn't look like it's nothing," Belén observed his rash behavior.

Barry sighed, agreeing with her. "Apparently, in case of his death, Wells had some kind of a living will."

"So what is that thing, then?" Belén eyed the USB even more curiously.

"I haven't watched it," Barry confessed.

"What? Why? Don't you wanna know what he says?"

"I've... been too afraid, honestly…"

Belén could adhere to that. She glanced at the bed stand on her other side and cleared her throat. "We could, uh...maybe watch it...together?"

Barry's eyes widened. "You would?"

Belén smiled softly. "Of course. I am still your friend."

Although the thought that perhaps it was all they would be from now on, Barry was still admittedly happy she wasn't flatout getting him out of her life.

He got up from his chair and went around the bed to retrieve Belén's laptop. She tried picking it up with one hand before he flatout told her absolutely not. After putting the USB in, he settled it between them two and prepared to see what Wells had left for them.

"Hello, Barry. If you're watching this, that means something has gone horribly wrong," Wells began in video. "I'm dead and the last 15 years have been for nothing. Bummer. 15 years. You know, when I realize that in all those years helping raise you, we were never truly enemies, Barry. I'm not the thing you hate."

"He is really _that_ sadistic," Belén couldn't get believe it. Barry could. He stared at the screen with all the hatred he could ever muster.

"And so, I want to give you the thing that you want most. It won't matter," the video-Wells shook his head, apparently it was funny to him, "You'll never be truly happy, Barry Allen, trust me. I know you. Now...erase everything I said up to this point. Give the following message to the police. My name is Harrison Wells. Being of sound mind and body, I freely confess to the murder of Nora Allen. In her home, on the night of March 18th, in the year 2000. I attacked Nora Allen in her dining room…"

"Oh my God," Belén was speechless. She looked at Barry for his reaction but even he couldn't muster words.

" _I stabbed her in the chest with a large butcher knife..._

"He confessed," she reached for Barry's arm, gently nudging him. "He actually _confessed_."

Barry set loose a small laugh as he turned on his chair. "This is it. This is what I need to free my dad!"

"Then go!" Belén shooed him with one hand.

"Caitlin said she would be staying with you-" Barry slowly rose from his chair, of course wanting to speed back to the police station but he didn't want to leave Belén alone either.

"I will be fine! Go!" Belén insisted.

Barry was still unsure as be glanced between her and the open door.

Belén groaned. "Let's make a deal, then. You can go but in return you have to let me write that killer article every journalist in the city is gonna be dying to write about this case."

Barry had to laugh again. "Okay, you got it."

Belén smiled and once again shooed him away. "Go!"

This time he obeyed and hurried out of the room. Belén laughed and settled back on her bed, happy to see that something amazing had finally happened in the city after so much.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm back! I'm so excited for this story to be honest. We get more characters, including some of my absolute favorite characters from this series as well as other series!

And just a note, I know we didn't get to see much about Maritza except that she's in jail so I'm just letting yall know that'll be in the next chapters. I didn't want to cramp so much into this one chapter especially since it's the first chapter!


	2. In A World of Flashs

Cisco and Caitlin gently helped Belén to stand on her feet. Today was the day she was finally able to leave the hospital and needless to say Belén was eager to get out of there. It had been a week since her accident and nothing had been more boring than being forced to lay in bed and do nothing.

"I can do it guys," Belén tried to shoo Caitlin and Cisco but neither moved away from her.

"Nu-uh, we are not letting you out of our sight," Cisco promised. "Not until we figure out why you were targeted."

"Cisco, that's so last week," Belén sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"He's right though," came mama-Caitlin's agreement. "We have a mystery to solve."

"Can we do that at Jitters while I eat?" Belén asked hopeful. She heard the place had finally re-opened - thanks to a 'mysterious force' reconstructing it at night - and was desperate to get back to her normal routine.

"We've actually got somewhere else to go," Cisco announced, his somewhat mischievous smile put Belén on edge.

She stopped struggling against the two to get to the bottom of their mysterious place to be at. "Oh, and where's that?"

"Barry's dad is getting released today," Caitlin smiled impossibly wide, matching Cisco's face exactly. "And we're throwing a little party."

"I-I'm invited?" was the words that came out from Belén's mouth in her rash nervousness. She knew Barry had begun the process of overturning his father's case thanks to the confession Wells left behind on video but neither she nor he knew how long that would take.

"Well of course!" Cisco answered her with a laugh. "So c'mon, everyone's setting up right now."

"But I need to get a proper shower and-and find something to wear…" Belén began to think about what she had in her closet. What could she wear with the new dark blue arm sling her injured arm was forced to rest in.

Caitlin chuckled as they finally got her to stand up from the bed. "Don't worry, I'll help you with whatever you need and then we can head to the party."

"Thank you," Belén could only wonder how much help she would need now that she only had one working, movable arm. Taking care of Axel sure was going to get even more interesting. She knew that one for sure.

~ 0 ~

"Where are half my things at?" Belén was mighty confused - and a bit alarmed - to find that her closet and drawers were half empty. Caitlin had walked in with a glass of water and some pills Belén needed to start taking. "I've been robbed," Belén turned back with wide eyes.

Caitlin couldn't take it and laughed. "Calm down, Belén. Iris and I came over last night and took some things you would need."

"As a welcome-home prank sorta-thing?" Belén raised an eyebrow, finding no relevancy in that plan whatsoever.

Caitlin continued to laugh but shook her head to answer Belén. "No, of course not. Iris and I thought that maybe it would be easier for you to stay with someone that could help you for a while. We put all your stuff in my spare room for you and Axel to stay in."

"Oh," Belén began feeling bad for making such a deal.

"Iris wanted you to stay with her instead but we figured it might be awkward staying in the same house as Barry so…"

Belén grabbed Caitlin's arm dramatically. "Thank you," she could not be more grateful for Caitlin convincing Iris of the alternative plan.

Caitlin chuckled and held the glass of water and pills for her to take. "Yes, now take these."

"Yes, Doctor Snow," Belén saluted with her good arm.

"And then we're gonna find you some clothes that we left for you," Caitlin walked for the closet, humming to herself, "I'm pretty sure Iris mentioned something she left specifically for the occasion."

Belén groaned. "Oh no."

~0~

Barry was glad to see his father happy right in front of him...without glass windows to block them. He was thankful that Iris had gotten the idea of making a little party for Henry and honestly couldn't think of a better way to welcome his father back than with his family and friends.

"Iris, Iris!" Axel tugged on Iris' dress sleeve and didn't stop until Iris paid him attention.

"What is it, Axel?" Iris looked down at the young boy. He seemed very impatient or upset, Iris couldn't tell which one it was but she knew the reason for his behavior.

"When is Auntie Belén coming?" he asked sadly. "I don't want cake until my auntie is here." He had been eyeing the cut cake for about an hour but refused any slices Iris tried giving him. Apparently, he was planning on not having lunch until Belén was finally home.

"She should be here any moment, I promise," Iris said and took the boy's hand. "If you want, I can cut you a slice right now-"

"No!" Axel stomped his foot, frustrated no one understood him. "I want auntie Belén! I miss her." He wrapped his arms around Iris waist and hugged her. "I miss her."

"Poor kid," Cisco remarked beside Barry, both having been watching Iris tend to the child. "Dad's dead, Mom's in jail, aunt in the hospital."

"Yeah, I can kind of understand," Barry admitted. While he'd been much older than Axel when he lost a parent, Barry still could empathize with the young child who had to cling to someone in order to cope with the losses. Joe and Iris had been his rock when he most needed it, and now Axel probably viewed Belén in the same way. Though even before Maritza had gone to jail, Axel was already close to Belén.

"Hey!" they heard Caitlin greet from the front door soon as she opened it. "Sorry we're a bit late."

But apparently it didn't matter. Axel gasped with delight at the sight of Belén and dashed from Iris to go greet his aunt. "Auntie Belén!" he embraced Belén however he could, making her stumble a bit back.

Belén laughed and hugged him with her good arm. "Axel! Tell me you've been a good boy with Iris."

"Mhm!" he said proudly but refused to let go of her just yet. "I helped wash dishes, I made the beds, and I helped cook and-"

"All that by yourself?" Belén managed to pry the four year old off her waist.

Axel gave a big grin as he nodded his face. "Aha!"

Belén didn't even argue with him. She just glanced at Iris who shrugged her shoulders (nearly laughing herself) then hugged Axel again. "Well thank you for being so good while I was gone."

"Why did you go away?" Axel drew away to stare at her arm sling. "I thought you were going away like Mommy."

Belén immediately paled in her face. She hadn't really thought about what Axel may have concluded on his own over her whereabouts for the past days. She'd specifically told Iris to tell him she had a small accident that required her to stay with the doctors. Belén didn't want Axel near hospitals.

Before Belén answered - which she was practically racking her mind for to avoid talking about Maritza - Barry approached them. "The doctors were taking care of her, remember Axel?" the boy in question looked away from Belén to Barry instead. Barry smiled down at Axel and bent down beside him. "She's not going anywhere. Hey," - he whispered - "You want to get some cake for your aunt?"

Axel's eyes widened at the reminder there was cake on the table. "Yes! I can share with you, auntie Belén!" he gave her a quick hug and then darted for the table, hollering for Iris to cut him that slice of cake now.

"Thank you," Belén said to Barry after Axel had left. "I...I should really get myself together when it comes to the subject of Maritza."

"You're doing the best you can," Barry said honestly. Even though they hadn't been together for 6 months, he was well aware of the challenges she had living on her own while basically supporting Axel. She worked her job(s) and took Axel to his preschool every day - though sometimes roughly depended on their neighbor Mrs. Andrews to babysit every now and then - and trained to have a better control over her powers.

Belén didn't seem to agree as she shrugged her shoulders and looked in Axel's direction. "I'm not his Mom - I definitely don't know what I'm doing half the time when it comes to him. There should be like a...guidebook on four year olds."

Barry laughed quietly, making her smile for a moment. "Yeah, I don't think you're the only one who wishes that. You're doing great, Bells."

Belén's smile returned with a light blush on her cheeks. She definitely liked hearing her nickname come out his lips. "Thanks. I'm happy for you, you know. I didn't think you would get your Dad out so quick, though in hindsight given your...speedy nature, I should've seen it coming."

"Joe pushed it, and I guess luck was finally on our side," Barry stuffed his hands in his pant's pockets.

"About time. You deserve it," Belén seemed hesitant about something but in the end, she decided to go for it and hugged him. After all, it was something she thought was well needed.

Although surprised by the action, Barry hugged back, careful not to hurt her in the process, and closed his eyes.

"I am _so_ happy for you right now," Belén said honestly, her words slightly muffled from the party's music and overall low voice.

"Thank you. If you hadn't made me watch the video…" Barry couldn't even imagine what that would've been like.

"Don't even say it," Belén hushed him, relieved herself she made him watch despite his reluctance.

Barry held onto her for who knew how long, just relishing he had that sort of contact with her again. He opened his eyes and happened to cross gazes with his father who was smiling knowingly their way.

Immediately self conscious, Barry pulled back from Belén. "Come on," he took her hand by custom and led her down the small steps to the living room. He took her towards his father, willing to just get over the awkwardness now than later. "Dad, you remember Belén? My…" but the words failed him as he didn't really know what to call Belén if she wasn't his girlfriend. Friend just didn't cut it.

"I'm just Belén," the woman said after watching Barry fumble over his words.

Henry chuckled at his son. He flustered so easily. "Of course I remember you. And I'm so sorry for your losses. Is your sister doing well?"

Belén involuntarily breathed in at the mention of her sister. "She's...fine, in what fits. But I bet you're doing a lot better now that you're here with your son. Now it's your turn to deal with his weird science explanations because I don't understand them one bit." Henry laughed while Barry shook his head. "I'm serious. Last time he tried getting all sciency I nearly smothered him with a pillow."

By this point Barry was completely red in the face. "Bells…"

"You gonna lie and say I'm wrong?" she challenged him.

"Best to say no in these cases, son," Henry said and had Barry groaning.

"Unbelievable!"

Belén laughed and happened to catch Cisco walking by with a plate of cake in hand. She gasped and grabbed Barry's arm on an instinct. "Is that cake? I haven't had cake in _months_. I miss cake. And donuts. Oh, but cupcakes. I miss cupcakes more, though. _Man_ I really miss cupcakes."

Barry swallowed down a laugh, thinking she was incredibly adorable at the moment. "Axel went to go get a slice of cake for him and you, actually."

"I love that kid," she mumbled and looked back at him and Henry. "If you'll excuse me…"

"You go ahead, I think you probably deserve it more than all of us," Henry assured.

"I really want a cupcake," Belén mumbled under her breath as she turned to go leave. She had never been happier to see so much junk food on the table and she planned on getting everything she could.

Although Henry, in the end, decided to leave the city, he did adhere to spending a couple of days in the city for Barry. In the meanwhile, the group began returning to normal. Cisco and Caitlin returned to STAR Labs. Belén had to leave her aerial dancing aside for the moment while she got back on her feet - or arm in this case. She came back to CC Picture News full time.

~ 0 ~

"Hey," Caitlin greeted Cisco in the cortex when she and Belén - and Axel - walked in. Cisco was busy working on the main desk with professor Stein while Iris stood beside the desk looking at something on her phone.

"I wanna play!" Axel rushed up to Cisco and tried peering at the computer screen.

Iris looked up from her phone screen with a rather nervous smile. "I got news on our, uh...assignment," she told Belén, careful of what words she used since she wasn't sure Belén had told anyone else about their article intending on causing doubt over the Azalea's death.

Belén moved over to see what was on Iris' phone and saw a couple pictures that seemed familiar but she wasn't sure where she'd seen them. "Where'd you get these?" she asked after handing Iris her phone back.

" _Well_ ," Iris tilted her head, her smile now becoming innocent, "Remember our early days where I had no idea you were the Azalea and Barry was the Flash?"

"Yes..."

"I snapped pictures of you and him in secret, duh!"

Belén remembered the one famous picture Iris snapped of Barry that'd gone on the front cover of their newspaper. That'd been over a year ago and it was still one of the most known pictures of the Flash. She should've figured Iris snapped pictures of her too when she wasn't looking.

"I sort of told Linda I got these from unknown sources but the backgrounds on them are evidence enough that they're not photo-shopped," Iris stuffed her phone in her back pocket. "But I have to ask again...are you sure you want to do this?"

Cisco loudly cleared his throat at the desk and raised a finger to make it known he'd be entering the conversation now. "I'm sorry, what are you two planning with the Azalea now?"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes at him. "I've been thinking about coming back as the Azalea."

Caitlin was the first to react and it was nothing but concern for her friend. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Belén said, truly honest. "I thought about it and I feel terrible that I left the city unattended. Even if Barry was looking after it, I had a responsibility to keep it safe as well."

"But don't you think it'll be hard if you can't control your powers anymore?"

Belén scrunched her face. " _Weeeell_ , it's not like I haven't been practicing at all. I've done training by myself and with Cisco."

At that, Caitlin immediately shot Cisco a look to which the man raised his hands in defense.

"You weren't talking to me!"

Caitlin rolled her eyes and waved him off. "If it's your choice, Belén, then I'll be here if you need my help."

"Thank you," Belén smiled.

Joe and Barry walked into the room a couple minutes later. Barry had gone with his father to the train station to say goodbye. While he was still pretty sad to his father go, seeing all his friends once more in the cortex made everything a lot better.

"Ho ho! Hey, guess what?" Cisco shot up from his chair. "I added a little upgrade to your suit." He made a gesture with both hands towards Barry's suit that showed a brand new golden outline around its white emblem. "It's just like the one from the future newspaper Gideon showed us. I was thinking, you know, you shouldn't fear the future anymore, right?"

Barry laughed as he took a good look at it. It did look pretty nice he had to admit. "No, and it'll be here faster than we think."

"Well, see, I like it," Professor Stein said, moving to stand beside Cisco. "The lightning definitely pops more against the white."

"It is nice," Belén's comment made Barry smile at her.

"I wasn't thinking about your suit, Bells," Cisco admitted after a moment, now feeling rather guilty about it. "But if you'd like, I could get brainstorming!"

Belén sheepishly smiled and shook her head after a minute. "No thanks, I'm good. I want to get back to myself." She noticed Barry's confused stare and promise him she would explain it later.

"You'll also be happy to know that S.T.A.R. Labs is now safer than ever," Cisco promised. "Increased security and surveillance. Re-coded, double firewalled, electronic lock sets."

"Sounds sciencey enough to be true," Iris remarked and shared a laugh with Belén who understood her perfectly.

"Ha, ha," Cisco mocked their laugh and frowned. "People won't be able to just waltz in and out of here."

But it seemed like that would still continue to be untrue. A tall, blonde man donning a black leather jacket and matching pants did just that. Iris gasped and jumped from her chair. Belén quickly nabbed Axel and hurried to get him away from the stranger.

Cisco, despite being alarmed of the intruder, was overall irritated that none of his work did any good. "For real?"

"Stay where you are!" Joe had pulled out his gun to aim at the blonde man. He eyed Iris to get behind him.

Barry discreetly took a closer scoot to Belén should the man come straight for business. "Who are you?"

The man raised his hands, apparently meaning no harm. "You don't know me, but I know you... Barry Allen."

"Take one more step, it'll be the last step you take," warned Joe soon as the man had taken one step forwards. "The man asked you a question. Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Jay Garrick and your world is in danger."

"That's not much to go by," Belén scoffed. "Clearly, you're new to Central City."

"I am, Belén Palayta," Jay said, much to her horror and the other's shock.

Barry yanked Belén to his side, and consequently Axel. "How do you know her name?" he demanded.

"I know everyone's names," Jay said, then gesturing to the others. "Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Detective Joe West…"

"Enough," Joe threatened the man with his gun again. "That part about explaining needs to happen right about now."

Jay nodded, deciding it was best to follow orders when there was a gun aimed at him. "This world is in danger."

Iris wasn't sure she heard right. "What other worlds _are_ there?"

"When you created the singularity above Central City, you also created a breach between my world and yours-"

"I'm sorry, a breach?" Cisco cut him off, confused as well.

"Yes, a portal connecting our two earths-"

"And what precisely is your concern?" Stein asked, partially following more than the others, but it didn't mean he was any less confused.

"A few days ago, you found a dead man named Al Rothstein at the nuclear plant. But then a different Al Rothstein tried to kill you."

"Atom Smasher?" Belén looked at the others.

"That man was from my world. If he got through the breach, I suspect there'll be more to follow."

"Okay, so, Jay, how exactly do you know all of this?" Barry asked, although it was easy to see that despite getting an answer he wasn't very inclined to believe it.

"Where I came from, I was a speedster like you. They called me The Flash. Before I arrived on your earth, I was in a fight with a man named Zoom."

The name rang in Barry's mind. "Zoom? I've heard that name before. Atom Smasher, he said Zoom sent him here to kill me. Who is this guy?"

"He's a speedster, like you and me. And fast," Jay paused as if to consider how much. "Maybe the fastest of all. But evil. He is an unstoppable demon with the face of death. We were engaged in our fiercest battle ever, racing throughout my city. But I wasn't fast enough to stop him. Zoom had me beaten. He was about to kill me when suddenly there was a blinding light and the sky split open. A breach, between my world and yours, caused from the singularity. It pulled me in and I somehow ended up in your world. Powerless. Unable to return home."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin stared at him.

Jay sighed. "Before nearly killing me, there was this woman - a siphoner - who took my speed."

"You can do that?" Iris immediately looked at Barry on instinct. Barry, this time, was just as lost as she was.

"She did," Jay answered her instead. "I lost my speed because of her."

"So, you've been in Central City for six months. Why haven't you come to see us before?" Joe lowered his gun for a moment but still kept a tight hold on it.

"I'm in a foreign world here, Detective. I didn't know who you all were. Took me that long to piece it all together."

"So that's how you know our names," Iris frowned. "You've been following us."

Jay sighed but admitted to it. "Look, I know how this sounds. The existence of another earth, you, another Flash, it all came as an unexpected shock to me, too. I just wish there was something I could do to convince you."

Barry looked at the others, seeing no one was willing to make a decision there and then. "There is," he walked for Jay. "We're gonna... do some tests on you. See if you're telling us the truth. 'Cause if you're not, this Zoom, he's not gonna be your only enemy."

~ 0 ~

Out in the city, in an alleyway, in the dark night a blue portal - a breach - opened up. Zoom himself, a dark figure dressed in all black complete with a black mask, threw down another man to the ground.

The man groaned as his back hit the ground harshly. "Where the hell am I?"

One moment he was making a petty theft and the next a brunette woman and a ginger one appeared and nearly killed him.

"You want to go home?" Zoom towered over the man. "You only have to do one thing."

"What's that?"

"Kill the Flash."

The man stared in confusion. He knew the Flash alright - from his world - but what the hell did that mean now?

"Fail and I'll have Datura siphon you," Zoom warned and stepped backwards.

~ 0 ~

Although they were fairly interested in the newest arrival to their world, both Belén and Iris had to leave the lab for work. Belén left Axel in the care of Caitlin and the rest in STAR Labs - who promised to keep him far away from Jay. Well, Barry promised her that, the others just agreed with him.

"These are so good!" Linda couldn't finish gawking over the pictures Iris had now printed out in high definition. "How the hell did you get these? The Azalea hasn't been seen in 6 months."

"She's here...just a sneaky one," Iris said confidently, briefly glancing with Belén. "Very sneaky."

"But that just leaves the question," Linda lowered the pictures, her shoulders slumping with confusion, " _Why_ is she letting the entire city believe she's dead?"

"Maybe she's scared," Belén said, answering a bit too fast without realizing, "A lot of people died 6 months ago and...maybe she's scared about that."

"What? Like she thinks we're going to blame her for it?" Linda nearly snorted if it wasn't a professional setting. "Yeah, right! I'd love to see her back. She and the Flash were such a good team!"

"Maybe if we finish writing this piece she'll see that," Iris' suggestion seemed to make Linda more determinated.

Belén cleared her throat and gravitated towards her desk, making the other two follow her. "I have a draft already if you want to look at it." She stopped just beside her desk when she spotted a small, pink box sitting in front of her computer.

"What's that?" Iris eyed the box curiously while Belén studied it up close.

"No idea," Belén picked up a small white card and read it over silently.

"Seriously?" Linda rolled her eyes at the two. "It's a dessert box, idiots." She took the paper draft from Belén's desk and walked off with the intention of reading it over and giving some feedback.

Iris wasn't sure she liked seeing the dreamy smile spread across Belén's face while the woman read off a small card that'd been on top of the box. It wasn't the first time some secret admirer pulled the stunt at work. Linda had had one a couple months back as well.

"So, who's it from?" Iris couldn't help the sour tone stinging her words. She knew she was wrong to think that someone belonged to someone, but in this case that someone happened to really care for her friend and that someone happened to be like a brother to her. She had a right to feel offended.

Belén could practically see Iris' thoughts and, with a teasing smile, said nothing. With her good arm, she opened the box's lid to find a red-velvet cupcake inside. Its bright, white whip-cream swirled around to a fine tip.

"Who sent you that?" this time Iris had asked more demanding. Unable to help herself, Belén laughed. "I'm not kidding," Iris huffed, putting down her papers on the desk to then place her hands on her hips. "I know I've got no right but it's annoying knowing someone here-" she threw an aggressive look at the room, "-is trying to play Mr. Secret Admirer with you."

"Okay," Belén thought enough was enough and let poor Iris in on her secret. She handed Iris the card meant to be a letter.

Iris took it glumly and read the small message.

 _A sweet way to start the day. Maybe later we can finish the day in a sweet way with donuts? - Barry._

Iris didn't know whether to feel mortified at herself for being so jumpy with conclusions, or on Barry's behalf for being such a…

"What a dork," she ended up laughing.

"I will take that, thank you very much," Belén took back the white card and set it down on her desk, her eyes lingering over its message for a moment. "Can't believe he found a moment to do this." She shook her head, but was unable to stop smiling as she took a seat on her chair.

"Soo…" Iris narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "...are you two, like, back together or…?"

Belén raised her head in thought. "I...don't know. But this is very good points."

Iris laughed again. "Dork," she continued to say.

"Hey, he's sweet and I like it," Belén pointed a warning finger at her. "...I missed it," she added after a minute, her smile softening.

Iris laughed but she abruptly stopped when someone walked into the place. Iris noticed her sudden fall and followed Belén's gaze behind. Although Iris was surprised to find the woman there, it didn't match Belén's.

" _Mom_?"

"Hello Belén," Veronica Green walked up to them. "We have to talk."

~ 0 ~

After getting no such conclusive results that would prove Jay, at one point, had been a speedster Barry did what he thought was best.

"I hope you understand why we have to do this," he watched as the pipeline sealed the prison pod Jay was now in.

Jay gave a nod of his dead, looking pretty understanding. "I get it, kid. You're doing what you think you have to. But you'll all realize soon enough that this, the tests, it's unnecessary. I want to help you, Barry, not harm you."

"You're not the first person that's said that to me."

"If what you told me about Zoom is true, that he sent Rothstein here to kill you, instead of locking me up in here, you better start listening. Because if Zoom is involved, then it means so is the siphoner. And you're gonna want to listen to me then."

"Why?" Barry tried acting like it didn't affect him.

"Two things are gonna happen," Jay raised two of his fingers. "One: Zoom's gonna want your speed as well. If you're lucky he won't kill you, but you can say goodbye to your powers. Two? The Siphoner's gonna wanna come here as well. She'll have her target and you're not gonna like who it's going to be."

Barry's eyebrows knitted together, partially mad Jay was making all those claims without an ounce of backup for then and another half of him was just confused. But before he could say anything, Cisco's voice alerted him through the speakers there was a fire somewhere in the city. Leaving Jay, he went out to help the others.

~ 0 ~

Joe had just finished a phone call when he heard a woman calling his name. "Yes, Officer…?" he turned to face a petite blonde woman standing rigidly in front of him.

"Spivot. Patty Spivot," she introduced herself formally. "Captain Singh mentioned there may be positions available on your anti-meta-human task force."

Joe shook his head and went for a couple of papers on his desk. "Yeah, everybody quit. There is no task force anymore."

That didn't deter Patty from making her proposition. "Well, I know someone who's interested in being on it. Me."

Joe stared at her to see if this was just a joke, but the woman remained in her spot smiling. "You do realize that meta-humans have super powers, right? And even if they didn't, you wouldn't be a good fit for the team."

Patty's smile faded for a moment. "Because I'm a woman?"

Joe shook his head, making his way for the reception room with the papers he had picked up from his desk. "I didn't mean to imply that."

Patty turned on her feet and followed him out. Both missed a hasty Belén coming out of the elevator and spotting them.

"Good, because I know how difficult this job would be, but I think I'm an excellent candidate," Patty ventured to get her qualifications out in the open for Joe. "I triple-majored at Hudson in biology, chemistry, and physics. I'm in prime physical condition. And I rated top of my class in marksmanship."

"Your class? You don't even have your stripes yet." Joe set down the papers for the secretary.

"Soon. Been on the job seven months, sir."

"Are you aware of what happened to my previous partner?" Joe started back for his desk and once again Patty followed behind.

"Detective Thawne, yes. I know that he died and the one before him, Fred Chyre, died, too, but the one before that's not dead, just transferred. I'm sure it had nothing to do with you."

Joe stopped by his desk and looked at the blonde woman who seemed very sure of what she wanted. "Listen, Officer…"

"Spivot, Patty Spivot."

"Yes, Spivot, the answer's no."

Patty sighed. "All I'm asking for is a shot, sir. Please, just an interview."

"You just had the interview. Didn't get the job," Joe apologized with a face and walked away.

Patty sighed deeply and turned to leave when she bumped into Belén. "S-sorry!"

"Don't mind it," Belén watched after Joe who'd taken a conversation with another officer. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything but I heard…"

Patty shook her head. "If he thinks I'm giving up so quick, he's got another thing coming."

A small chuckle escaped through Belén's lips. "You should. I have good word that he usually breaks down after a bit of hassling."

"Really?"

"Mhm. He's my boyfriend's and best friend's dad so I know a thing or two."

Patty's eyes widened a bit. "Really? Could you...give me some pointers, maybe?"

It was then that Belén realized she had branded Barry as her _boyfriend_. Her face turned a bright red. _Oh my God if Patty mentions this to Barry…_

"I, um, I'll look into that and get back to you," she said when she realized she left Patty hanging there in silence. "I'm Belén, by the way," she stuck a hand to shake with Patty.

Smiling, Patty shook hands with her. "Patty."

"If you'll excuse me, I came with a mission," Belén made a gesture she needed to get going and Patty nodded her it was fine. Taking a breath Belén hurried away from the woman, praying to every God she knew that Patty wouldn't put two and two when she eventually saw Barry.

"Joe?" she stopped a couple inches from Joe and another officer. "Could we talk for a bit?"

"Sure thing," Joe left his co-worker and gestured Belén to follow her to his desk. "Is there something you needed?" it wasn't usual for her to stop by the place since the singularity, and much less to talk with him.

Belén seemed to struggle with her words for the first minute, but eventually she got it out in one small-worded question. "Did you call my mom when I had my accident?"

Joe's eyebrows raised slightly but didn't intend on hiding what he did. "Yeah, I did. I thought that as a mother Veronica needed to know." Although he was very perplexed and shocked to find that the woman hadn't even made a call for her daughter to see how she was doing.

"Well, that explains why she showed up at my job today," Belén sighed.

"She did?"

"Mhm," Belén nodded. "She went ballistic when she my arm and other injury. She's blabbing about getting me to come back with her to Star City."

"Look, Belén, I didn't mean to cause you any problems with your mother-" Joe meant to explain but Belén cut him off with a soft smile and response.

"I know that, Joe. If roles were reversed and Iris had been hurt, I would have done the same thing."

Joe gave her a thankful nod in return.

"It's just...it's difficult hiding my other life when she's constantly breathing down my neck," Belén couldn't help her frustration seeping through her words. "Last time I warded her off because I had my life put together, but now I have Axel and I'm battling to keep his custody while holding down a job and trying to keep up with payments-" she stopped to take a breather, "I don't know how I'm gonna convince her I can do this."

And she truly didn't. She knew right now was not the best moment of her life but she didn't want to leave the city like a little girl who needs her mother. She didn't. She was old enough to be independent and work for what she needed.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Barry thought it would be a nice time for lunch with Belén. He hadn't had the opportunity to be alone with her anywhere, so perhaps today would be the day to start. After finishing up his usual CSI work at the scene where he fought their newest metahuman, he stopped by CC Picture News to see if she was willing to have lunch with him.

"I would definitely like that," Belén chuckled as a means of expressing her nervousness. It was as if they were beginning all over again and that included the feelings of a high schooler with a crush.

Belén moved around her desk trying to gather her things with one arm. Barry quickly offered to help her with that and as he was moving to put her phone in her purse it began to ring. He was unable to remain at ease when he saw 'Mark' flashing on the caller ID.

"I'll just take that," Belén saw nothing and grabbed her phone, answering then. "Hello?"

In the meantime, Barry pretended to just casually stand there like it didn't bother him this guy was probably still trailing after Belén.

"Yeah, no thank you so much. I will definitely be there tonight. Okay, thanks," Belén hung up with an incredible amount of excitement.

"So...what did Mark happen to say….?" Barry took her phone and let it drop in her bag.

"Things…" Belén said slowly, her eyes studying his expressions and gestures. It reminded her of the way Cisco and even Joe had looked at Mark the day at the rally.

"Mm, things that had you so happy…" Barry commented, utterly failing at hiding his jealousy.

Belén reached for his arm and motioned with her head for them to get going. Sighing, he took her purse and led her for the door. It was honestly refreshing seeing him this distressed over something as simple as a phone call from another man. Belén wasn't there to be fought over like a trophy, but after six months of having _nothing_ from Barry, she could stand to see a bit of jealousy on his part.

Of course, midway down the same street she felt guilty. Barry was having a struggle to keep his mouth shut about Mark and Belén could tell it was killing him.

"Can I show you something?" she stopped suddenly to face him.

"Yeah, sure," Barry expected her to want to take something out of her bag but she shook her head and leaned to his ear to whisper something.

 _An address._

Barry blinked in confusion, but Belén assured it was for a good reason. He carefully took hold of her, not wanting to hurt her injuries, and sped them for an apartment building. There, they came to the third floor.

"Bells, I don't understand what we're doing," Barry was following the woman down a solemn hallway lined with various apartment doors.

"I'm easing those thoughts of yours about Mark," Belén glanced to see the metahuman fumbling over something he thought he'd been hiding relatively well. She stopped in front of the last apartment door and bent down to reach underneath the mat. Barry watched her pull a small golden key.

"Where are we?" he asked once she unlocked the door.

"Mark's apartment," Belén giggled and hurried in before he could refuse coming in with her.

The jealousy was undeniable then. "Belén, I know I was a jerk but i don't think this is fair-"

Belén hummed to herself as she looked around the almost empty apartment. Its living room was spacious without the old furniture that used to be there. There was a couple of boxes stacked up against a wall. She walked over to them and started sifting through them.

Meanwhile, Barry was scowling at everything there. The kitchen still had its table and a couple of more boxes. He could see the hallway was empty of any portraits or furniture.

"Barry, do you think Mark and I are dating?" Belén's sudden, straightforward, question pulled Barry to the moment. Widened eyes laid on her still going through a box. "Well?"

"Um…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck, "...what's the answer that doesn't make me look like a selfish jerk?" Belén laughed to herself. "I mean, I don't purposely try finding jealousy. I know you and I are not together, and that you have every right to find someone who won't hurt you. It's just...it doesn't mean I stopped caring." Belén looked back silently, her playfulness gone as she listened to his words. "It hurts, yeah, that you could find someone else. It shouldn't but it does. And...and if you and this guy _are_ trying something...then tell me, and I'll stop all of these attempts of mine. I promise."

Belén could tell, despite being a decent distance from him, that he was being completely honest. With a swelling heart, she pulled out a small, wooden portrait, and walked back to him. "Here," she held the portrait for him to take.

"What?" Barry took the portrait and looked down to find a picture of Mark and a ginger woman side-by-side smiling.

"That's Mark-" Belén tapped a finger over Mark's figure, "-and this-" she moved her finger to the ginger woman, "-is Selena. His _fiancee_."

"F-fiancee?" Barry repeated. Belén nodded her head, giggling when she saw the relief wash over his face. "Oh thank God!"

"They're getting married - actually, I'm a bridesmaid - and Mark is moving in with her so...he let me take his apartment," Belén gestured to the place.

Suddenly, the apartment was amazing. Barry couldn't help himself and encased her in a hug. "I'm probably a selfish man but I'm really happy you're not dating anyone nor thinking about dating," he murmured beside her ear.

"Well, maybe just one person…" Belén responded quietly and pulled away to show a shy smile across her lips.

Barry blinked, initially taken aback, but it didn't take long for him to start smiling back. _Definitely on the right track_ , he thought.

~0~

Cisco was setting to work on the sample of sand - which apparently was not sand according to Jay - that Barry brought to them earlier in the day. He was waiting for professor Stein to return to the working room to try and find out more of the breeches. He set the small sample of sand underneath a scientific microscope and barely got a look at it when he felt that same, odd sensation that often pulled him from the present.

He found himself in a blue, glowing building. He spotted Sand Demon being thrown to the hard ground, a crackling light threatening over him.

" _What do you want!?" Sand Demon shouted frantically as the threatening light grew closer to his face._

 _A woman's laughter sounded behind him. However, a second woman's voice ordered the first to quit it._

 _Her soothing, almost sultry-sounding voice, then told the first woman it wasn't the way._

 _A brunette donning leather, her back to Cisco, stood in front of the second woman - a tall, ginger in a green one suit. "He says there's another one…"_

 _The ginger wagged a finger at the brunette. "Then you shouldn't harm this one-" she gestured to Sand Demon who was still under the brunette's threat, "-unless you want to lose your only way."_

 _The brunette sighed and retracted the threatening light from Sand Demon. The ginger moved past the brunette and stopped beside Sand Demon. "Zoom wants you to work for him. Either you agree or you lose your powers and probably die. Quite simple really." The sadistic smile on her face provoked a terrible tingle of fear in Cisco._

"Woah," Cisco sucked in a heavy breath once he managed to get out of that vision. "What's happening to me…?" he slowly fell back into his chair, exhaling and trying desperately to get that vision out of his head.

~0~

Before Barry could take Belén to lunch, he received a call from Joe that he had found their metahuman - whose name was Eddie Slick. Sadly, Barry had to cancel and leave Belén on the street. She didn't mind, she understood after all. SHe went back to work and did her best to finish her article as much as she could before it was time to go. Linda and Iris were really excited once they saw their work finally melding together in the article, and left Belén a little happy to see her return getting closer.

However, her happiness didn't last long when she returned to Caitlin's apartment.

"Oh for the love of…" Belén mumbled under her breath at the sight of her mother standing in Caitlin's living room.

"Annah-Belén," Veronica finally breathed from relief at the sight of her daughter.

"What are you doing here?" Belén demanded. " _How_ do you even know we're staying here?"

"Wasn't easy but I am a cop," Veronica said, shrugging. "Your lovely friend - Caitlin, I believe - was kind enough to let me wait for you in her home. I've been trying to call…"

"One would think rejecting all your calls would give you a clue that I didn't exactly want to talk to you," Belén set her uninjured hand on her hip.

Veronica expected this sort of behavior from her daughter but couldn't say it didn't hurt her. Her talk with Belén earlier in the day at her job was a complete disaster. Belén was mad that she hadn't even tried getting in contact with her after she was shot. But what really drove things home was the fact Veronica had tried coaxing Belén to return with her to Star City with her.

"We need to talk," Veronica ventured to try again but Belén wasn't having it.

"You said everything earlier and I already told you _no_ ," Belén enunciated the last word slowly. "I'm not coming with you and there is nothing you can say that'll change my mind."

Veronica, exasperated, let her own purse fall to the nearest couch. "Would you stop being so childish? You would see that I'm only trying to help you!"

"Me!?" Belén scoffed. "How are you helping me? By trying to pull me away from my friends? From my job? From _my_ city?"

Veronica was about to shout back but she bit her tongue and came up with an alternative. "I passed by the house...and I saw you were selling it."

Belén still became defensive over it. "The deed was under Dad's name, and with Rayan dead and Maritza in jail the house is legally mine. I can do what I want with it."

"But that's the point, Belén," Veronica sighed. "You are selling your home because you can't keep up with all the payments and now with Axel you have a lot more to deal with. Come back with me, please. It's the best thing for Axel."

"I am not going with you!"

Veronica gave her a stern, yet somewhat apologetic look, for what she was about to say next. She truly thought she would be able to get through with her daughter but apparently she had been wrong. "If you don't come back then I will be forced to file for Axel's custody."

Belén's eyes widened till they just couldn't anymore. "You wouldn't…" her voice trembled.

Veronica remained on her stance. It felt terrible seeing her daughter so shaken by a possibility of losing the child, but Veronica truly saw no other way. "Axel is a child, Belén, and he needs a stable home. Where is he right now, hmm?" she gestured to the clearly empty apartment.

Belén's eyes became teary but she answered anyways. "With my friend, Cisco."

"Mm, can't keep him with you, can you?"

"I have a job!" Belén defended herself in a mild-shout. "That thing I do to pay for his needs. Many single mothers have babysitters."

"I think I have said what I needed to," Veronica reached for her purse on the couch. "I will be here till the end of the week, but if you don't come back with me then I will be forced to fight for my grandson's custody."

"Maritza wouldn't let you!" Belén cried frantically. "She specifically left instructions for _me_ to have Axel's custody."

"Well, when the judge takes a look at our backgrounds they'll see I have plenty experience unlike you." Veronica sighed as Belén's tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I don't want to fight you, Belén. I don't. But you are leaving me no choice here." With those words, she walked out of the apartment.

Belén angrily threw her purse across the room just as Veronica shut the door. Almost instantly, Belén felt the cold, plant-side of her start creeping out. But unlike the previous year, she didn't fight it, she let it come to her. There was a brief change of her skin - the emerald, scaly side appeared for but a minute before Belén felt calm enough to send it away.

"It's not over," she turned away.

~0~

Belén listened for the loud ringing bell that indicated she was allowed to move into the visitor's ward. Every time she came to Iron Heights' metahuman division, she couldn't imagine living in such a dull, cold place. But, it was where her older sister, Maritza, had been living for the past 6 months...serving a life sentence. Her metahuman side proved to be a challenge for her sentencing, and since the justice system hadn't caught up with the fact some of their population now had powers...it was easier to sentence almost any metahuman for a long, long time.

Maritza knew well what she'd done and she accepted her sentencing with true penance...not that Belén quite believed it yet.

"You came for a visit," Maritza beamed when her sister picked up the visitor's phone on the other side of the glass.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Belén muttered. Her eyes seemed to struggle to remain on her sister, something Maritza noticed the first time Belén visited her.

"I heard what happened to your arm..." Maritza lowered her voice. "Did you catch the guy who did it?"

"Barry did," Belén cleared her throat. "Metahuman. What can you expect from low-lives."

Maritza took the sting with a slow nod of her head. She was being patient, very patient with Belén, but it hurt each time Belén made a snide comment like that. "I'm very glad Barry helped you, then. You and him...you're talking again?"

"That doesn't matter," Belén shifted on her seat. "I'm here for other business. Mom's in town." Maritza blinked in shock. "And she's not here on good terms."

"I...I don't understand," Martiza leaned forwards in her chair. "I haven't seen Mom since my sentencing hearing and...it's not like she had a lot of words to say to me."

"Well, she said a lot to _me_ ," Belén shook her head. "She wants me to come back to Star City. If I don't, she'll fight for Axel's custody."

Maritza's eyes widened in alarm. "What!? My instructions were specifically for you. I transferred my custody over - everything was legal, Belén! I swear it!" And judging by Maritza's distress, she was telling the truth.

"Has she come talk to yet? About anything?"

"No! I swear she hasn't!" Maritza sighed and brought a hand to her forehead. "Mom hates me." Belén remained silent for a moment. Maritza wasn't always one to show emotion, but her quiet whisper was signal enough of how honest she'd been when she said that. "I did terrible stuff, shamed her name in the police department. She doesn't come to visit me, ever." Maritza lowered her hand to the metal table and looked at Belén with a small smile. "You're her golden child now, her _only_ child now."

"Mom and I don't get along, and if she does this - if she takes Axel from me, I will _hate_ her forever."

And Maritza knew Belén meant every word of it.

~ 0 ~

The next morning that Belén made it to STAR Labs, she found all of her friends arguing with one another. It was enough to give anyone a headache.

Barry was the one in the middle of scolding the others. "We don't even know anything about Zoom! _What_ is Zoom? Is Zoom even real? Right now, that's just, you know, a story around a campfire. I mean, have you discovered a breach yet?"

Professor Stein coughed awkwardly when the question was thrown at him. "Not yet, but we know how to now."

Barry made a gesture he was being proven right then looked at Caitlin. "Have you found one thing to suggest that Jay is a speedster? Is there a trace that the Speed Force was ever even in his system?"

"It doesn't appear to be, no," Caitlin shook his head. "But then again, if a siphoner was involved…"

"What's going on?" Belén spoke over them.

"We're being lectured, that's what," Iris sighed and glanced at the woman.

Barry groaned. He was frustrated that no one was listening and getting that this was important. They were all so quick to trust Jay - a man who had dropped in on them with a story they couldn't even yet prove. "We are scientists," he continued, voice louder and sharper than before. "You're journalists," he gestured to both Belén and Iris, the former blinking as she was yet to understand what the problem was. "We test, we prove, we report. That's what we do. Except right now, nobody here wants to do any of that except me."

"Okay," Belén spoke over him before he said something more, "I'm cutting it right here. We gotta talk," she pointed between herself and Barry with a warning look that he had to better agree with her. "Can we have the room for a mo?"

There was no disagreements among the group. Caitlin took Axel by the hand and walked out along with the others. Belén waited with arms crossed until they were all gone.

"Look, Barry, I know it too early to say this, but I'm not having a good day so can we just cut to the chase here. Why don't you want to trust Jay?"

Barry tried to look anywhere but her demanding eyes. "I don't know."

"Really? That's the answer we're going with?" Belén was mighty disappointed he was trying to play dumb with her. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that, then. I dare you." But of course, Barry was unable to. With a sigh, Belén walked up to him. "Is it...because of Dr. Wells? Well, Thawne, whatever his actual name was."

Striking the nerve, Barry didn't even hide his anger. "I trusted that man. For months."

"Hey, we _all_ did," Belén reminded.

"But you know what?" Barry finally was able to look her in the eyes. "Eddie is dead. Ronnie is dead. And a whole lot of other people in this city, they are dead because we trusted him. I'm not gonna let us make that mistake again."

"You know, I would have thought that you being a scientist would understand that not everyone is the same. Jay is not Wells. And besides that, you defeated Wells because you trusted in people. Because you believed in them. The team that you have here, they will follow your lead. They'll do what you say. But if they think that you don't believe in them, it won't be long before they don't believe in you. Is that what you want?"

"Course not," Barry mumbled under his breath.

"Then…" Belén stepped closer to him, hands like a feather over his arms, "...why don't we give him a chance, hm? Think he deserves that."

Barry thought it over but struggled a bit as he felt her touch. He playfully rolled his eyes then, succumbing to her idea. "Yeah, I guess I could let him out for a bit…"

With a laugh, Belén stepped back. "There we go. See? It _is_ possible to play nice with other speedsters."

This time, Barry laughed. Their conversation was cut short when they heard Barry's phone going off. He saw it was Joe and answered, hoping they had news (again) on their actual villain. Unfortunately, it also involved the kidnapping a fellow new co-worker.

"We're looking for any structures that promote humidity. Greenhouses, grow rooms, anything of the sort," Jay explained to the group who was ready to start searching for places where Slick could have taken Patty to. "His body will literally start to fall apart if he becomes dehydrated."

"Like dry sand," Caitlin nodded her head.

"Exactly. Sand Demon always attacks on two fronts. He creates a diversion, then strikes when you're distracted."

"Okay, then what do we do?" asked Barry.

"We use your speed to get to him before the distraction can happen."

Barry did his best to not sound condescending as he asked, "Jay, how do I stop somebody who can slip through my fingers?"

But Jay already had the answer. "The way I was never able to. With lightning.c

Cisco clapped his hands together. "Yo, are you about to pull a Zeus right now?"

Belén snickered. "Oh my God, Cisco. But wait," her face scrunched in confusion, "Can you do that?" She looked between Jay and Barry. "Can you actually create thunder from _speed_?"

"Asks the woman who can poison anyone by touch," coughed Cisco.

"You can poison?" Jay asked curiously, making Belén chuckle.

"Yeah, suit's mine," she pointed at her old Azalea suit behind him. Jay glanced back and examined the suit for a moment.

"All right," Barry agreed to the plan, a but unsure ld how well it would go but at the moment it was all they had.

~ 0 ~

While everyone set to work on finding their missing meta and officer, Jay and Barry moved to the training room/garage to try out that lightning trick. Because neither Caitlin nor Stein had found the place they needed, Cisco opted for a different way but left abruptly to go try it out apparently. Unable to help herself, Belén followed a short moment afterwards.

When she found him in the working room, she was a bit concerned to find him holding his head with eyes shut. As Belén walked in further, he jolted like he had snapped out of something.

"Oh, no," he muttered with a heavy breath like he had just run a marathon or something.

"...Cisco?" her voice startled him into turning around. "What just happened here?

Thinking it would distract her, Cisco answered a different question. "I figured out where Patty is."

"Okay...but how did you figure that?"

Cisco nervously laughed. "Just a hunch. We gotta tell Barry." He made a move for the hallway when three tendrils of vines wrapped around the room's threshold to block his way. Slowly, he turned around. "Using powers against me now? That's a serious disadvantage."

"I'm sure," Belén smiled. "So are we going to discuss this or will I have to keep you hostage?"

"I know where Patty is, Bells. We can't waste time," Cisco adamantly said.

"Cisco I know you're hiding something-"

"Look, I promise we can talk afterwards but right now we have to save Patty. Right?"

Belén narrowed her eyes playfully. "Playing the good-guy card on me. _That's_ the disadvantage." She pulled the vines back from the threshold and followed Cisco out the room.

After telling both Barry and Jay of where it was most probable that Sand Demon and Patty would be, Jay was designated as the visual distraction needed in order to save Patty. It was then that he revealed the silver helmet that had fallen through the breech on the day of the singularity was his.

"Never thought I'd see that again," Jay laughed when Caitlin emerged from a cortex side room holding said helmet. "It was my father's, from the War of the Americas."

Cisco blinked. "Did you just say War of the Americas?"

"I wish you would have just told us you lost your helmet. Would have saved us all a headache," Barry remarked as Jay put on the helmet. It really would have avoided so much distrust.

"Well, sure you want to do this, Flash?" Jay turned to him.

"Yeah. Let's go see what you're made of... Flash." Barry clapped hands with him.

As it turned out, Cisco had been right of where to find Sand Demon and Patty...to which Belén gave a sharp look at Cisco. Cisco, trying to avoid questions, got on the comm.

"I'm in the security feed. Go, Barry!"

Barry had sped into the building, making sure Sand Demon would hear his arrival but remained hidden and allowed Jay to come in as if he had made the noise instead.

"Is that you, Flash? Found your way here," Sand Demon turned from the bound Patty on a chair to face Jay.

"I came quite a distance," Jay remained where he was. He needed to draw Sand Demon away from Patty to allow Barry the time to get her out.

"I thought you were dead," Sand Demon admitted.

"You were wrong. Like usual. Let the girl go."

"Have at it," Sand Demon gestured to Patty. "But you touch her, she goes boom-" he made the exploding gesture with his arms, "-and I think even you aren't fast enough to save her."

He walked up to Jay, waiting for a moment but allowing Jay to throw the first punch. Sand Demon ducked and stepped back.

"Quite a bit slower on this Earth, aren't you, Flash?"

That moment allowed Jay for a clear shot across the face.

Angry he'd been caught off guard, Sand Demon returned the favor and started punching Jay back. "You don't have your speed, do you?" he realized with great delight and wonder. "Did she siphon them?" he had to know. While it was such a pleasure to see his enemy without powers, it meant that Zoom did have the power - or the woman - to steal powers from anyone.

But once again he had become distracted. Barry was able to come in and pull Patty from the chair she was tied to. As the bomb went off, he, Patty and Jay were blasted back while Sand Demon absorbed the energy.

"Must be my lucky day," Sand Demon laughed as both speedsters got up. Patty was identified as unconscious but alive. "Zoom sent me here to kill you. Now I get to kill The Flash from two worlds before I go home." He stuck a hand backwards, using a mighty sand blast to choke Jay from behind.

Barry took a big breath and started running around Sand Demon and Jay, just like Jay instructed.

"Come on!" Sand Demon shouted for him to stop and actually fight. He let go of Jay and waited for the other speedster to stop.

At light speed, Barry stopped in front of him and hurled a shard of lightning forwards. It caught Sand Demon right on the chest and threw him backwards. By the time he hit the ground he had turned into brown glass that shattered at the contact of the hard ground.

~ 0 ~

Later that same day, Belén returned to find Cisco working in his experiment room. She had held her tongue back for a reasonable amount of time but now she felt it was time to get those answers.

"Cisco?" she startled him as she strode into the room. "Professor Stein wanted to know if you've made progress on whatever the hell electrophotography is supposed to mean?"

Cisco smiled. "The satellite picture of the city's still rendering so we have a couple more minutes left."

"Oh, perfect," Belén made herself comfortable on the edge of his desk. "While we wait, maybe now you can tell me what's going on with you."

"U-uh...what?" Cisco glanced at her, eyes blinking rapidly.

Belén just smiled. "Your 'hunches'-" she made air quotation marks, "-don't really sound like hunches. I know you're smart very smart, but this is something else. I mean, you knew where Sand Demon was - like exactly where he was and what he was gonna use? Cisco-" she tilted her head, serious then, "-for real?"

Cisco knew there was no point in denying it then. "Something's happening to me."

"That much I got."

"I'm starting to perceive things. Horrible things…" Cisco paused and moved away from the desk. "It started after Wells killed me in the other timeline. It came back when Atom Smasher attacked on Flash Day, and then again when Sand Demon showed up. I get a vibe, and then a vision of something that's already happened, and then it's gone. That's how I knew where Slick was."

Belén was beginning to smile. "Cisco, you're a metahuman!" she jumped off the desk excitedly. "You have powers! And...and good ones by the looks of it! We have to explore them-"

Cisco was quick to refuse such an idea. "No, no, no, we're not doing any of that, and we're certainly not telling anybody, either." Belén's smile began fading. "I'm seeing things I don't want to see. And knowing things I don't want to know. I just want it to stop."

"Cisco...I think I am the most qualified to remind you what happens when you desperately try to push your powers away."

Cisco curly nodded. He acknowledged there could be consequences to his decision but he just didn't want to know of these powers.

"I tried to ignore a whole side of my powers and look where I am now? I have to be very careful now. Don't ignore them - embrace them." Belén hoped he would adhere to her warning because she wouldn't like to see him in the same predicament she was.

"Wells told me this was my future. That he gave me this power. But everything he did was evil. That's what scares me, Bells. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

Belén agreed. "I promise I won't. But you have to promise me you'll think about what I said."

"I promise," Cisco agreed to the terms.

Belén smiled and hugged him with her good arm. "But you know what?"

"Mm?"

"If you do embrace them, that means you get to name yourself."

Cisco laughed. That was something he hadn't yet thought of.

~0~

After Caitlin finished attending to Jay's newest injury, she left the side room to allow Barry to talk with Jay. She figured they needed to get some words out. It was the only way they would be able to start fresh on good terms.

"So, I hear they call you the Scarlet Speedster," Jay couldn't help the laugh he set loose.

"Yeah," Barry laughed too. He wouldn't even mention the first one Belén had dubbed him with during their early days. "What about you?"

"The Crimson Comet." Jay laughed again. "What is it with alliteration and nicknames?"

"Hey, look, Jay, um...thank you for all your help. And for being so patient with me," Barry knew he was a piece of work that Jay shouldn't have had to work for so long.

"Nah, anytime, kid. You're a quick study," Jay waved it off. "Took me a lot longer to learn how to toss lightning, believe me."

"Then I suppose I had the right teacher."

"It's going to be a lot harder to take down Zoom."

"Who is this guy?" Barry hoped to get some real answers on Zoom because so far no one else had them.

Jay sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "No one knows. He showed up around the same time as when I got my powers. He gathered himself a selective metahuman band to constantly terrorize my city. I managed to put most of them away except for a few…"

"A few?"

"Well, I couldn't exactly touch a meta who poisons, another who siphons, or freezes...they're all dangerous, Barry. These just happen to be more dangerous."

"Hmm," Belén cleared her throat as she made her entrance to the place, "Sorry, did you just say a meta who poisons?"

Jay smiled, understanding her curiosity. "Poison Ivy - you don't want to meet her."

"With that name, no thanks," Belén raised her good hand to pass. She moved beside Barry, sitting down on the side of the bed. "Are we talking about Zoom? Because I would love to know more about this guy who has it in for Barry and a hobby of shooting women?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too," Barry agreed. Without noticing, he had stepped closer to Belén and put an arm around her. "Because I don't get it."

He truly had thought and thought why Belén had been targeted in the first place. He understood that Zoom was after him - however twisted it was he got it. He was a speedster and so was Zoom but the latter was more competitive. That made sense. Him ordering an attack on Belén did _not_ make sense.

"Maybe it was because Zoom knew you were someone important to Barry," Jay tried reasoning himself.

"We didn't even talk with each other for six months," Belén reminded. "We broke up like a day after the singularity. There's no way Zoom could have put that together when we didn't have any contact."

"When I fought the Atom Smasher he mentioned it was a test," Barry recalled and soon felt the anger he felt then resurface.

"That sounds like a test I do not want to pass," Belén frowned.

"He said that it was a test, like a standalone thing. A test for...Datura? I don't know what that is, though."

It was easy to see the name was very familiar to Jay.

"What is that?" Barry asked him.

"It's not a thing, she's a _woman_ ," Jay explained with a small sigh. "She's the siphoner who stole my speed. And if she targeted you specifically, my guess is it's not for a good reason."

"Oh…" Belén said quietly, unable to hide her growing fear. "Well...I guess I'm gonna have to...learn how to fight a...siphoner?" It was impossible to stay unconcerned when she wasn't at her prime state.

Barry saw her being absorbed in her thoughts. "Jay, can we have a moment please?"

Jay nodded and walked out of the room to give them privacy.

"Belén-" Barry moved to stand in front of her but the woman turned away from him.

"How do I fight a siphoner? _Can_ I fight a siphoner?" she turned back to him with widened eyes. "Have we done that yet?"

"No, but...we'll find a way," Barry stepped closer to her. He reached for her uninjured hand and laced his fingers with hers. "We always do, right?"

"...yeah, we do," she sighed. But even as she tried to stay calm, her mind began to race towards the mysterious siphoner who had it in for her. Who was she? Why did Datura want _her_ of all people?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Helloooooo! I am back! I was on vacation so of course all my stories suffered delays. Still, hopefully there's still some interest for this story! Season 2 was always one of my favorites!

For the review: Thank you so much! I really hope you like the story as it goes on!


	3. Lonesome Rogues

Maritza Palayta knew by now not to expect many visits for her, from anyone. She counted herself lucky if Belén decided to stop by once a month. Having her mother sitting in front of her now was something beyond shocking.

"Mom?" the word tumbled from Maritza's mouth before she could even finished thinking.

Veronica stood on the other side of the glass, her facial features not as readable as they once were. She didn't know what to make of her eldest daughter now. She'd been there for Maritza's sentencing, head held high but nothing but disapproving of Maritza. Never in Veronica's mind did she ever consider her daughter becoming a metahuman and much less a criminal.

"I didn't expect you to visit me..." Maritza said after a minute of awkward silence. "At all."

"Should I?" Veronica's tone was cold, but Maritza knew she deserved it. In her mother's perspective, she ruined their reputation in the police department both in Central City and in Starling City.

"I don't know," Maritza answered honestly. "I don't let Axel visit, and I'm lucky if Belén decides to give me the time of day, so...to what do I owe this visit?"

Veronica closed her eyes, sighing. "If you haven't seen Belén already, I think you know what my situation is right now..."

"Ah," Maritza slightly raised her head. "Are you still bothering Belén about my son's custody? You know I left instructions, written out legally, of who I wanted to look after my son, right?"

"Maritza, we both know that Belén is neither ready nor has the means to sustain herself and a child," Veronica remained adamant in that aspect. She viewed this as logically as she could and it was the simple truth. On her own, Belén was able to pay for herself and do her own things, but having a child was something completely life-changing. "You and I, we had our children at a decent age. At a time where we were physically, emotionally and economically ready to care for a child."

"Well, one of us was," Maritza corrected coldly. "Because I may have gone down the wrong path, killed people, but I was always there for my son no matter what. Can you say the same? Where the hell were you?"

"I accept my faults," Veronica lowered her gaze, surprising Maritza for a second there. She'd never won a small disagreement like that, ever. "And after seeing how each of my children have ended up...I realize I should've been there more. It's why I want to try and get close to Belén."

"Your words are nice but your actions say something else," Maritza sighed. "You want Belén, fine, but under on _your_ terms and that's not going to work, Mom. And that's the problem. Mom, I love you, I really do. In your own way i know you love us back, but you are making the biggest mistake of your life. You lost Dad, Rayan, me...do you really want to lose Belén too?" Maritza so desired for her mother to see the errors she was making. She would want nothing more than the last remaining family of hers to be together.

Veronica swallowed hard and looked down. "I am trying-"

"No, you're _fighting_ ," Maritza corrected her softly. "Mom-" she laughed softly, "-stop fighting and _help_ Belén instead. You think it doesn't kill me to know she's struggling because she has to raise _my_ son? I wish nothing more than to change what I did, but I can't. But _you_...you still have a chance to mend your errors. You want to have a relationship with Belén? Prove to her that you are committed to seeing her perspective for once."

Maritza hoped her mother would heed her words because she was sure if Veronica kept going forth with her plan, Belén would never forgive her.

~ 0 ~

"So my mother has filed for custody of Axel," Belén sighed as she explained to Barry. The two were sitting on the steps of her front porch. Little by little, they had scooted closer to each other. "Like, she _actually_ filed for it. I thought she was angry and bluffing but she wasn't. And you know she did it because I said 'no' to going back with her to Star City."

Barry was honestly shocked to hear what Veronica did. He never had the pleasure of meeting her and actually talking with her in a full conversation, but this was enough to put her on his bad list. "I'm so sorry Belén..."

Belén sighed and glanced at him with a sad smile. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to spread my depressive news to you."

Barry smiled back for a moment before assuring her everything was fine. He'd come by with the intention of asking her to lunch since they still hadn't had the chance of going on a date since their break up. But as soon as he'd taken a look at her face - which was after asking her to lunch - he saw something was wrong. And boy was he right.

He took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "We'll figure something out, Bells."

"C'mon. I'm 26 I don't know the first clue about being a pseudo-mother to a four year old. I'm selling my childhood house to keep up with bills. Maybe, on some level, my mom's right to file for custody..."

"You're doing everything you can, and you know what? If your mother is truly concerned then maybe she could help instead of doing...this!" Barry couldn't help the anger lacing his words the more he thought about Veronica's actions. "If she wants to fight, then let's make sure our fight is a damn good one."

Belén was smiling softly, and he had no idea why. The way he'd automatically joined her side with 'our fight' made her feel...warm. She missed that. A lot. "I'm glad you're around again."

The smile that came to Barry's face was automatic. His hand gripped hers and there was a moment where he thought he couldn't ever let go of her hand. "So am I."

"And...I'm sorry about the whole...date thing...I'm-"

"-I get it Bells," Barry reassured her again. "We can go another time."

"Are you sure?" Belén asked, still mighty guilty. It'd been some time since they technically were trying to be together again and it was rather hard to do when there were no dates involved.

"Yes! C'mon," Barry stood up and, with his hand still holding hers, made her get up as well. "Let's go to STAR Labs. Cisco might be done with the breach search, remember? Portals into another world might be something fun to see, you know..."

Belén dramatically sighed. "For nerds, I guess." Barry deadpanned her until she laughed. "Alright, let's go see this breach thing. I need to pick up Axel anyways."

~0~

Indeed Cisco had finished with the breach search and found quite more than he would've thought. Down in the basement of STAR Labs gathered the group save for Stein, Iris and Joe to look at the biggest breach of them all...which turned out to be out of 53 in the entire city. It resembled a blue, moving blob suspended in air over a small platform.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Cisco couldn't stop looking at the breach.

"It looks like a blob," Belén crinkled her nose. Cisco immediately shot her a look of offence for diminishing the breach's worth.

"Still can't believe what I'm looking at," Jay admitted.

"52 breaches in Central City, and the biggest one just happens to be in our basement," Caitlin remarked, totally unsurprised by the turn of events.

"We need a name for it," Cisco popped a finger in the air.

"It's not a pet, dude," Barry's words meant nothing for Cisco who was already on a brainstorming path.

"No," professor Stein walked in carrying a squared monitor hanging on a strap, "It's a wormhole."

Caitlin immediately turned for the man. "Professor Stein, what are you doing? Your blood pressure is 147 over 82! You could pass out again."

Stein didn't look the least bit worried over his condition despite the fact he had collapsed a few days ago while giving the group a lecture. "Oh, it's merely a few points above the 140 average for someone my age. Besides, I have some ideas I would like to contribute to this discussion, Dr. Snow."

"And I want to hear them. This isn't just a wormhole. It's my way home," Jay reminded them all. "Back to Earth Two."

"Jay, you really think that we can use this as some kind of bridge from your world to ours?" asked Barry.

"Zoom uses the breaches. Why can't we?"

"We don't know _how_. Everything I put through just bounces back," Cisco sighed.

Axel, who had been left sitting at a nearby desk looked up from his drawings he was working on. "Can we throw more things!?" he excitedly asked.

Not even waiting for the answer, he grabbed his crayon box and hopped off his chair to run for the breach. He and Cisco had taken turns throwing things into the breach earlier to see if they would come back and he was mighty disappointed when Caitlin came in to tell them not to do it anymore. He liked seeing everything they threw be bounced back at them.

"Cisco!" Belén exclaimed as the boy made a beeline for the breach, his arm already raised to throw the crayon box.

"Got him!" Cisco snagged Axel of his feet as he passed by him.

"Aw," Axel frowned. Everyone laughed at the young boy.

"I can't believe you," Belén shook her head at Cisco for yet again teaching something wrong to her nephew.

"If Zoom's using these breaches to transport people from Earth Two, maybe it takes a speedster," Barry suddenly theorized and gave a smirk.

"Barry don't-" Belén didn't get to finish when he sped out of the room. "He wouldn't…" she dared to think that Barry wouldn't be that impulsive.

But...Jay knew better. "Yeah, he is," he answered with eyes shut.

A second later, Barry sped into the room straight for the breach only to be thrown backwards. He landed in a small roll on the floor and groaned. "Maybe I'm not fast enough."

This time it was only Axel who burst into laughter. "Boom! Barry went boom!"

"Yeah!" Cisco gave him a high-five, missing Barry throwing them a mini-glare as he got back on his feet.

"I don't believe your speed is the entirety of the issue, Barry. It might be the breach's stability or lack thereof," Stein hypothesized more correctly.

"He's right," Jay nodded. "We need to think of the breach as a door, and on Earth Two, there's another door. In between, we have a hallway, but the hallway's constantly shifting, twisting, collapsing upon itself. And the doors keep moving with it."

"So we stabilize the door, we stabilize the hallway," Cisco understood the idea.

"And then I can jump through it," Barry beamed.

"Exactly, it would serve as a kind of cannon," Jay smiled but no one like Cisco.

"A speed cannon. Mm. We should hang out more," Cisco pointed at him, making the others laugh.

"Alright," Stein cut into the laughter. "No more tests today. All of you are leaving now, as am I. Cherish the gift of youth as I will go cherish my much needed nap." He motioned the entire group to get going. "Clarissa's already on her way to pick me up. Why not go get some coffee?"

"That is a fantastic idea!" Cisco agreed, already rubbing his hands together at the thought of some sweet coffee. "Jitters anyone?"

"You paying?" Belén teased.

"Can I get some chocolate milk?" Axel rushed up to Belén with his own hands put together. When Belén saw that she sighed do deeply.

"You have got to stop spending so much time with Cisco, buddy."

The others snickered while Cisco let out a mighty offended gasp with a hand over his chest.

~0~

Iris joined the group for some midday coffee and was excited to hear about the breach discovery, though not so much after she learned there 53 in their city. While Barry went to get their coffee, the others remained at the table chatting. Belén, however, was pulled away from the conversation when her phone started ringing. Seeing it was her mother calling, she dumped her phone into her purse and decided to go help Barry bring back their drinks.

"Need some help?" she asked him.

"Still waiting," Barry motioned to the barista running behind the counter. "You okay?" he noticed her anxious expression.

"Yeah," she said a bit too fast to be convincing. "Mom's calling and all."

"And you're not going to answer?"

"Not if I don't trust myself not to shout."

Barry thought that was fair enough. He pressed a kiss to her temple and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. Belén smiled to herself and got to thinking about the fact they hadn't really kissed either.

 _What kind of getting-back-together is this?_ Belén wondered if Barry had thought about it too. If he had, then he was being really good about it.

"Order 20!" A barista slid a coffee on the counter then hurried to continue with other orders.

A blonde woman leaned on the couple's side to reach for her drink then offered a shy smile at them once they could see her clearly. Only a couple days were needed to learn that Patty Spivot was a shy woman.

"Hey guys," she greeted with a wave of her free hand. She seemed far more cheery than when they first met her (separately). It stemmed from the fact she was finally on the metahuman task force at the precinct.

"Hey, Patty," Barry greeted. He looked down at Belén and realized he never introduced them, not that they didn't know each other already. "Oh, this is-"

Belén chuckled and lowered his gesturing hand before he could finish. "We already know each other, don't we?" she looked at Patty who laughed as well.

"Yeah, she's the one that gave me the advice to continue hassling Joe for a spot on the task force."

"I've been meaning to congratulate you, actually," Belén said. "Barry told me Joe let you in. I'm sure you'll be great."

Patty sheepishly smiling. "I'm hoping." Her smile sort of faltered when she noticed Belén's injured arm was...no longer injured. "Sorry, um...how's your arm?"

"Hm?" Belén quickly looked at her perfect arms. Her metahuman abilities kicked in and aided her in healing quicker than a normal human.

"Oh, um, it's fine. It's still a little sore but since the bullet didn't actually hit my arm it healed quicker," Belén cleared her throat and looked at the counter that was being filled with their drinks. Patty seemed to buy it since she gave an 'oh' and smiled about it.

As Barry tried gathering all of the, together, Belén laughed and decided to help. "Bells, it's hot," he said and then motioned to her hands.

"Oh shut up," she playfully rolled her eyes and took at two cups. She glanced back at Patty who was taking a sip of her coffee. "Do you want to have some coffee with us?"

Patty's eyes snapped back to the two. "Hm? Oh, no thanks," she shook her head. "I was stopping here on my way to work. Another day? I owe you for your help."

"Sure," Belén beamed at the idea.

"Great," Patty stepped aside to let the two get on with their coffee.

"C'mon," Belén led Barry away. "I like her."

"I do too. She's lively - and she knows her way around a crime scene," Barry said, missing Belén's sarcastic glance.

"Hmm, young, pretty, blonde _and_ a nerd? Should I be worried?"

"Wh-what!?" At that point he nearly did dropped the cups in his hands. "I-I no! That's...that's not at all what I meant, Bells!"

Belén laughed as they approached their table.

"What's with you two?" Iris eyed them.

"Oh, nothing, just teasing Barry on his new girlfriend," Belén said calmly as she took her seat next to Axel.

"She's not-" Barry began rather adamantly before he realized this was just another play of hers. He sighed and shook his head. "That's not funny," he pointed at her with a stern finger.

"Seems pretty funny from my end," she said slyly and picked up her coffee.

"Hey, you guys think Professor Stein is okay, right?" Caitlin didn't even pick up her own cup before thinking yet again on Professor Stein. "I mean, Clarissa would call if there was anything wrong."

"Yeah, of course," Barry said to her, but apparently it wasn't enough to convince her.

She grabbed her phone and started getting up. "All right. I'm just gonna call and check in. I'll be back."

"Uh- I don't see that call going well," Cisco said right before he started imitating Stein. "Young lady, these repeated intrusions are interrupting what should be a speedy recov-" but in the midst of his mockery he bumped into a passing brunette woman. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

The brunette looked up and revealed herself as Lisa Snart who answered in her usual flirty tone. "Don't apologize. You can bump into me any day, Cisco."

"Lisa Snart," Cisco's eyes widened.

"Oh, hell no," Belén said outright annoyed. Meanwhile, Barry tried hiding behind his coffee cup.

"You here to double-cross us again, or are you and your big bro holding up coffee shops now?" asked Cisco.

"Auntie Belén," Axel once again tugged on her good arm. "Who's she?"

"Someone who needs to _go_ ," Belén answered loudly for Lisa to get the point. "I would think you and your brother would stay away from places where there's children present."

Lisa didn't respond in her usual snarky tone. "I need your help," she said instead.

"In your dreams, Sister Cold," Cisco nearly laughed.

"I think her brain was finally frozen," Belén stared at the woman. "You do realize we could call in the Flash and the Azalea at any moment, right?"

Lisa nodded. "Call him. I know you two have a thing, so call him."

Barry nearly choked on his coffee while Belén gaped. Iris just smirked - she kinda liked this Lisa Snart.

"Unbelievable," Belén looked away, her face rather warm. "Was it that obvious?"

Her response was a very loud scoff from Iris.

Cisco had been studying Lisa in the meanwhile and had noticed something was just off with her. There was an actual shred of fear sitting in her eyes, and...concern? Was that even possible in a Snart?

"You really want us to call then," he said in realization.

"I need their help too," Lisa confessed. "My brother's been kidnapped."

~ 0 ~

Of course very curious to see what Lisa meant, the group took her back to STAR Labs to get the full story. However, both Belén and Barry made the excuse they had to go take Axel somewhere else - they may have forgotten their excuse as soon as Lisa was gone with Caitlin and Cisco. Instead, they let Iris take Axel and the two beat the trio to STAR Labs to get changed.

"I saw it happen," Lisa swore. She stood in the middle of the cortex, explaining her situation to the group before they would send her off. "Last night, Lenny, me, and Mick were knocking over the cashier's cage at Central City Racetrack-"

"Does it physically pain your family not to rob people?" Belén blamed herself for being so surprised when she knew she was dealing with a family of criminals.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "I never finished the job. After Mick torched through the side entrance, I looked back for Lenny and saw him getting thrown into the back of a van."

"And why didn't you and Mick follow?" asked Barry.

"I would have. Someone hit me from behind and knocked me out," Lisa gestured to her head. "When I came to, Lenny was gone, and Mick already made off with the cash."

"How do we know this isn't some kind of a trap?" Cisco logically wondered.

"If Lenny wanted Flash dead, he would have let Mardon, Simmons, and Bivolo take that honor, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Barry mumbled, thinking of it as yet another logical reason not to help them again.

"Good. Then you'll also recall that you owe Lenny a favor for saving your life. Time to make good on that debt."

"Even if we wanted to help, how are we supposed to find him?" Barry asked honestly.

Cisco turned on his feet and walked for the desk. "Not a problem. See, when I rebuilt the cold gun, I didn't have time to place a tracker on it, so I devised a method of locating it by borrowing some military technology." He started typing on the computer. "See, the gun works the same as thermal imaging, only instead of infrared heat signatures, it's looking for ultraviolet cold signatures. Whoa, look at that. The gun's UV thermal reading was last picked up at 5th and Hoyt eight minutes ago."

"All right. Let's see if you're a liar," Barry said to Lisa before speeding out.

"I'm _not_ ," Lisa argued but he had already left.

"That's debatable," Belén said under her breath, but not as quiet as she thought because Lisa had heard perfectly.

As it turned out, Cisco was right on where to find Snart. However, they did not account for Snart being with his father. As a result, Barry ended up being nearly frozen to death. Thanks to Cisco's new addition to the suit, the ice melted into nothing and he was able to return to STAR Labs where he had half a mind to tell Lisa Snart off.

"So your brother was not kidnapped. He was pulling a job with your _father_ ," he sourly informed Lisa upon arriving.

Lisa was nothing but confused. "What? No, Lenny would never do that."

"Oh, just like he would never try and kill The Flash with his cold gun?" Belén pretended to think. "Do you _know_ your brother?"

Lisa still couldn't get over the confusion. It was the first clue that perhaps she wasn't lying to them. "Are you sure it was my dad?"

Cisco pulled up a reference file of her father. Caitlin walked over to the computer hanging on the wall. "That's him. Lewis Snart. Convicted of larceny, armed robbery, aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon."

"You have to believe me," Lisa pleaded. "Lenny would never work with him," she then added, like it was a secret no one in the room knew, "He's a bad guy."

"Did you miss the memo or something?" Belén honestly wondered if Lisa was just pretending she and her family weren't criminals. She was aware she was being ruder than usual but when it came to the Snarts she had no control.

"Why should we trust anything you say?" Caitlin crossed her arms.

Lisa stared at them a minute and then pulled on her jacket and blouse's collar to reveal a long scar running around the side of her neck. "I didn't get this scar being a criminal. I got it being a daughter," she mumbled and walked away.

The others, feeling a bit guilty, meant to follow her and get her back when Cisco stopped them. "Let me go. I got this," he made a gesture and left the room.

"I have to get to work," Belén knew she couldn't last long in the same room as a Snart. She was going to crack. "Every time I see a Snart all I think of is my sister's secret. Maybe the Azalea can take a rain check here."

"Don't worry," Barry said, understanding this wasn't one of her best moments. "We'll call you if something comes up."

Belén thanked him for it and took her leave. However, when Barry got to thinking what she was planning on doing at work, he followed her out to the elevators.

"Uh, Bells, hold on a minute," his call stopped her in time. "About that article you, Linda and Iris are doing..."

Belén nodded, already knowing where this was going. She'd talked to him and the others about what they were doing and needless to say he was a little concerned with her decision.

"Barry, it'll be fine," she tried to say but he just couldn't agree so easily.

"I just don't think it's a good idea looking at where we are right now," he sighed. "You wanting to be the Azalea isn't the problem here, you know..."

"I do," Belén agreed, crossing her arms. "But if I live my life in fear because someone from another world decided to hunt me down...I'll never be happy."

"Datura is hunting you down for whatever reason and you letting the city know that the Azalea is alive might just give her more fuel to hurt you."

"Either way, Barry, she's coming to hurt me," Belén stepped closer to him, putting on her best encouraging smile for him. "Might as well let her know who she's dealing with."

Barry's lips briefly quirked into a smile. He loved hearing her so brave and sure of herself. He didn't want to be the reason it disappeared, but he just wished he could stop worrying so much.

~ 0 ~

Belén met with Linda to look over their almost finished draft. Since it was Iris' day off, they wanted to have everything finished for tomorrow so they could just give it another proofread and turn it in.

"This is really good," Linda said after reading some of Belén's lines. "Your perspective on the Azalea's disappearance is really interesting."

"Thanks," Belén felt a little ridiculous for taking a comment about a piece she did about _herself_. "I just think the city should wonder if this woman was away for so long then maybe it's for a big reason."

"I think they'll believe it," Linda said with absolute certainty. "And you know what, maybe reading this might encourage the Azalea to come back."

Belén smiled at their draft. "I think so."

"Belén?"

Belén inwardly groaned when she heard her mother's voice. "Mom," she turned away from her desk to find Veronica approaching her. "Seriously? You can't do this at my _job_ -"

But Veronica calmly raised a hand to stop her. "I'm not here to argue. I want to talk. For real."

Admittedly this did stump Belén for a minute. Her mother seemed calm, calmer than any time she'd seen her as of late.

"You can talk in the conference room," Linda suggested, nodding her head towards the empty room behind her. "No one will bother you there."

"Thank you," Veronica told her before walking towards the room, leaving not much of a choice for Belén.

"I'll be back soon," Belén promised Linda then followed her mother. She closed the glass doors and readied herself for whatever her mother threw at her.

"Bells, your mother's here…" Caitlin's eyes were widened as a gesture that she was pretty nervous of Veronica's appearance.

"Belén, please. I have a proposition," Veronica came out with it in one go, however Belén had a different idea of what she meant by a proposition.

"If it's me and Axel getting out of the city then you can forget-"

"I want to stay," Veronica surprised Belén so much that for the next minute Veronica had free range in the conversation to say what she needed to. "I've been going wrong about this, and I get it, and I'm sorry. I'm just...I've lost my kids, and not just from the divorce, but from life. Rayan's gone, Maritza's gone, even David's gone. And I thought that staying away was the best thing. I've always done better when I'm alone..."

"How'd that work out for you this time?" Belén crossed her arms, unable to keep her resentment at bay. "Because for us it didn't go too well."

"I was wrong," Veronica knew those three words would become part of her daily vocabulary. "I have never been very good at expressing my feelings and when I do they're always in the wrong manner. But you just have to know that I _do_ love you, okay? You're my daughter, how could I not?"

"I have never doubted that," Belén said quietly, shifting on her feet. "But you have never, ever, tried to see things from another person's perspective. Everything always has to be _your_ way or it just blows up."

"I know, I see that now," Veronica nodded her head. "That's why I want to stay here in the city, and change, so that I can be that mother you need. I know things will never be perfect, but I want to _try_."

"You say that now but by Sunday you'll be back to your regular self," Belén remarked.

"Not this time. I mean it. I already made calls to SCPD to transfer here."

Belén's eyes widened. "You...you did that?"

"Mhm. I'm hoping to get transferred here, at the CCPD. And look," Veronica went back to her purse where she pulled out a manila folder, "this is something else I think could be good for both of us." She walked up to Belén and held out the folder.

Eyes glued on her mother, Belén took the folder and opened it up. She skimmed a couple of lines which resulted in a contract...and proposition?

"What the hell is this?" she looked up.

"I want to buy the house off you," Veronica declared. Belén's mouth fell open once again. "It's clear you and I can't live together, and maybe it's for the best now. You're a young woman who, as you've said, is trying to make her life now. You're selling the house and I would like to buy it."

Belén's eyes nearly popped out from her head from how wide they were.

"And-" Veronica continued with a gesture that Belén should keep looking through the papers, "-I want you to sign Axel's custody over to me, but-" she raised a finger when she saw Belén opening her mouth to argue, "-with conditions. I honestly don't think you are ready to take on the responsibility of a child. It's not that I think you are incapable. I just think you're too young for this."

"I am-"

"Belén _please_ just stop being stubborn and view things logically for a moment," Veronica pleaded. Belén snapped shut the folder but adhered to the request. "You're at the starting point of your life. You just had an accident, your job is barely beginning, and I even hear you're starting a relationship again, and all that gets complicated when you have a child to look after. Tell me you haven't gone crazy looking for babysitters? Axel goes to school now and that can't be easy when it's only three hours a day. Plus, I can't imagine the sleepless nights you've had trying to look after him. He's four and he doesn't have his mother anymore. I know you're trying, but...it has to be hard for you, right?"

Belén bit her lip, her initial annoyance subsiding when she got to thinking. Of course there'd been days where she just couldn't find someone to look after Axel while she went to train for the aerial show or even just to go to work. There were sleepless nights that often had her nearly falling asleep at work. Then there were moments that she just didn't know how to talk to Axel, especially when he asked about Maritza.

"I'm not trying to take Axel away from you. On the contrary, I want to stay here in the city, live in the old house with Axel where you and I can make plans to see each other more often. I'm going to get old eventually," Veronica smiled lightly, "And when that time comes, you'll probably have a family of your own and then you'll know how to care for Axel and your children. It'll be _your_ decision to have them."

Belén re-opened the folder to look things over again. Her mind was fumbling with different ideas but they were all screaming at her to agree. This was the closest thing her mother had ever done to benefit _her_ and Belén couldn't find it in her to disagree when her mother seemed to be honest. Because in the end, she did love her mom and she did want to form some sort of relationship before it was too late.

~ 0 ~

Returning to STAR Labs (as the Azalea), Belén came to quite a sight. Lisa was sitting on a stool with Barry and Caitlin, the former as the Flash and holding some sort of whirring device in front of Lisa's neck.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Belén walked over to them.

"There's a bomb inside Lisa's that her father put," Caitlin responded then moved on to tell Barry, "Once you hold it steady with the magnet, I can surgically excise it."

Cisco came running into the room shouting for them to stop. "Put the magnet down! This is a really concentrated bomb. It's gonna combust if it's exposed to magnetic friction and an oxidant."

Caitlin and Barry retracted one large step away from Lisa who shared the same confused face as Belén.

"In English please?" Belén asked them.

"Air. Uh, the bomb will explode if it comes in contact with air," Barry replied.

"Scientific minds. Can we confer, please?" Cisco motioned to be followed into a side room.

"Yeah, I'm not scientific but I don't want to be near her," Belén mumbled and flashed an apologetic smile at Lisa. "This time no offence."

For once Lisa smiled back.

"What if Flash speed extracts it?" Caitlin wondered once they were in a separate room.

"Nope, it's too risky," Cisco shook his head. "I'm gonna find a way to get it out. I just need a little time."

"But you could lose track of Snart and his dad," Belén pointed out.

"I wish we knew what he was gonna steal next and when," Barry said, thinking. It only took a moment for an idea to pop into his head. "Maybe I can get them to tell me. Their tech guy is dead, so I'm betting they're gonna need a new one. I should infiltrate Lewis' crew."

Belén burst into a fit of laughter but abruptly stopped when she met Barry's offended face. "Oh, you weren't kidding?"

"No, I wasn't," Barry frowned.

"You're gonna pretend to be a criminal?" even Caitlin was surprised of the idea.

"How hard can it be?" Barry shrugged, not thinking about it too much.

"How do I say it nicely…?" Belén mumbled, thinking for a minute before coming up with, "...you're kind of a dork."

Barry tilted his head at her. Was this the best she could come up with? And she was trying to be nice. "Well, as long as you're being nice."

Belén smiled. "You know I mean that affectionately, but...you just have a thing about you that screams…"

"Nerd?" Cisco finished, or blurted.

Belén laughed again. "That's the word!"

Barry shook his head at them. "Thanks guys, really."

"Oh, c'mon," Belén couldn't stop laughing however and so Barry left the room before they added more to his apparent persona.

~0~

"He actually went through with it," Belén couldn't say she was surprised Barry went through with his idea to pretend to be a criminal and tag along with Snart and his dad.

Caitlin laughed as the two walked for the cortex holding respective cups of coffee in their hands. "I think he might have done it just to prove us wrong."

When the two women returned to the cortex Cisco had devised a new way to retrieve the bomb from inside Lisa. He had fashioned a gun-like device with a fitted clear tube sticking above from it.

"What exactly are you gonna do to me with that thing?" Lisa hadn't stopped staring at the big gun she knew was going to be aimed at her pretty soon.

"Operating pressure on this is over 1,000 PSI. This will easily suck the micro-bomb out of your neck and into the barrel of this with one high-powered sho," Cisco tapped the top of the gun. "There is one slight risk."

"Besides shooting a high-powered weapon directly against my neck? "

"The gun does use compressed air," Cisco admitted and looked at the other two women.

Lisa reached a hand on his arm and softly said. "I trust you, Cisco."

"Maybe that's one thing we have in common," Belén smiled at Cisco. "Do your thing. But, uh...we'll be over here," she gestured to herself, Axel and Caitlin.

Cisco nodded a thanks and moved a bit to the side to finish the last bit of the gun. Almost at the same time, Belén's cellphone went off. She took it and walked to the side to take Iris' call, not that she had much of a conversation since Iris was in a fit.

"Bells? I need you!" Iris blurted frantically, worrying Belén she was in trouble.

"What? What is it!?"

"It's just...my dad told me that...that my Mom was actually _alive_ and-"

"He _what_?" Belén's mouth fell open. "She's...like...breathing-alive?"

"Oh yeah, the whole thing. Please, I just...I really need someone I can talk to with 'mom problems'. Didn't even know I could have those," she mumbled in the end.

"Y-yeah, don't worry. Are you home?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll be right over," Belén promised and hung up. "I have to go but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Is everything alright?" Caitlin asked once she detected something was off in Belén's tone.

"Yeah, um...I hope," Belén pushed herself up from her chair. "I'll be back later, promise."

"We'll handle things," Caitlin assured.

Belén thanked her once more and hurried to find Iris. Like the woman had said, Iris was sitting at home completely alone. She had Axel coloring at the dining table actually quiet. She had pulled up several of her old albums that happened to contain some of her mother's pictures. It was all completely crazy to her. First, she thought her mother was dead and now apparently Francine was more than alive. But then...her father told her that Francine was dying. How was she supposed to think when there was all that behind it?

She nearly jumped from the couch when she heard someone knocking. She opened it up and was relieved to find Belén on the other side. "Thanks for coming, Bells."

"Yeah, of course," Belén walked in but not before giving her a hug. "I can't believe your mom's alive."

"Me neither," Iris said and closed the door. "I didn't have anyone to talk to about this. I mean, I tried getting through to Barry but he wasn't answering-"

"Oh, he's off being a criminal," Belén waved that off and headed into the living room. Iris made a face behind but filed that under 'ask later'.

"Bells, I'm so confused. I saw her today," Iris stopped by the couch, allowing Belén to sit down first. Belén reached for an open photo album with a picture of a baby Iris and her mother. "Like...she was _there_ , and…" Iris shook her head, still unable to believe it.

"How is she?" Belén thought to ask.

"She's...put together," Iris took a seat beside her. "My Dad said that...she used to be a drug addict. She was put together and I told her...to go away. That's what I said to her."

"I think that's completely understandable. I mean, if she left…"

"Oh, she _left_ ," Iris said with a bit of resentment in her tone. "She just got up and left and then suddenly decided she wanted to see me again." But even then Iris knew that wasn't the complete truth. "She's...sick. That's what she told my dad. But...I don't know if I can believe her. She's made my dad lie this whole time who knows what comes out of her mouth now."

"Well, you're a reporter, research her," Belén instructed. "You're the daughter of a cop, and a badass of a reporter. This is your perfect talent. Use it."

"And if it turns out to be true?" Iris asked quietly. "If my mom...is dying...what do I do?"

"I can't tell you what to do," Belén shook her head. "I mean, you see the problems I'm having with my own mother, but if Francine came back at this moment...she probably wanted to make amends before she…" made a gesture and sighed. "But you have to be really committed. You can't do it out of guilt. It's okay if you don't want to know her because the truth of the matter is, while biologically she's your mother...she was never A a mother to you. I think she would understand that."

Iris nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled.

Belén stared at her for a minute before reaching over and hugging her again. "Come here!" Iris smiled as she was rocked a bit by the woman. "If you want we could research together."

Iris truly thought about it for a minute but went against it in the end. "I need to do it alone. But thank you so much."

"Don't worry, I understand," Belén nodded her head. "But you also need to understand that I'm gonna hug you for five more minutes."

Iris laughed.

~ 0 ~

At one point in the heist he was being forced to pull, Barry wondered how he would rub it in Belén's face that his plan had gone right so far. She thought he was too dorky to actually play off being a trained techy criminal. She so owed him, that much he knew.

Now as the Flash, he appeared to Snart and his father right at the end of their heist, ready to stop them. Both of them were getting ready to leave the vault with all the diamonds they found.

"Only place you're going is back to Iron Heights, Lewis," Barry spat at the older man he really disliked, and not just because he had shot him five minutes ago.

Snart raised his cold gun at Barry but did not shoot. Lewis, on the other hand, just smiled. "Ah, you wanna bet?"

That was the question wasn't it? Barry raised a hand to his earpod. "Do I wanna bet?

"Do not bet!" he immediately heard Cisco's shout. "Give me a minute."

"Tell me this, what kind of man puts a bomb in his own daughter?" Barry started to ask, hoping Cisco wouldn't be too long.

"A very rich man," Lewis smirked. "Shoot him, son." But as Snart failed to do so, Lewis pulled out a small, silver device that Barry assumed was the controller of the bomb inside Lisa. "Kill him or you'll never see your sister alive."

Barry wondered how this could play out where both he and Lisa got out alive. Thankfully, he didn't have to think for too long before he heard Cisco's 'okay'.

"Lisa's safe," he told Snart. Almost on reflex, Snart redirected his cold gun at his father and shot him square in the chest.

Lewis fell on his knees with nearly his entire body covered in ice. "You're working with The Flash? I thought you hated him?"

"Not as much as I... _hate_ you," Snart responded, almost trembling from the hatred he felt for the man now dead on the floor.

Barry cautiously moved up to Snart and gently pulled the cold gun from his hands - to which the other man didn't even fight for. "Lisa was safe. Why did you do that?"

Snart looked up with cold eyes. "He broke my sister's heart. Only fair I break his."

~0~

With the Snarts' dilemma finished - however badly it was - the rest of the team called it a day. Belén hadn't stopped by STAR Labs anymore due to the time, so she left Iris' place with Axel and returned home. She put Axel to bed, with the promise that things would be looking better for them now. He was certainly excited to learn his grandmother would be staying in the city. His excitement deterred his sleep but eventually, after two or three bedtime stories, Belén got him to fall asleep.

She had to admit, the idea of having her mother around - on good terms - was something that made her smile.

Her thoughts about the new arrangement were interrupted when she found her dining table decorated with candles and dinner she'd most certainly hadn't cooked. (She may or may not have bought Axel take out and called it dinner).

"This is a surprise," she admitted when she saw Barry standing next to the table. He was holding one azalea in his hand and was wearing a nice outfit.

"The many perks of being a speedster means I can basically be a ninja," Barry smirked which just made her laugh. He moved up to her and held the azalea out for her. "I know we didn't have a chance for a nice date outside and I know it's just harder for you right now, so...I thought maybe a house-date might work better."

"House date," Belén repeated with a soft chuckle. "Thank you for that." She took her azalea from his hand and gave it a sniff. "And thank you for my flower. My deadly, poisonous flower."

"Yeah, keep that away from Axel..."

Belén playfully rolled her eyes and gazed at the dinner table. "Thank you for this. All of it. I really love it. I'm just sad I'm not better dressed."

"What are you talking about? You're looking lovely as usual," Barry dramatically gestured at her.

"Barry, stop," Belén laughed but Barry continued on with his compliments, from her hair to her shoes. Eventually she managed to quiet him down only to keep Axel from waking up.

The two sat close to each other at the table and started on their dinner. It was from the same restaurant they visited on their first date.

"Good points, Mr. Allen," Belén pointed her fork at Barry. "Only this time I'm not going to spit anything out."

Barry nearly laughed when he remembered her spitting out a spicy meal she'd ordered on their first date. "I thought it was cute."

"It was awful. I'm surprised you didn't walk out there and then," Belén reached for a sip of her drink.

"Why would I? You were gorgeous then, and now I know you're the best thing that could ever happen to me."

Belén lowered her fork for a moment to smile at him. "You're smooth tonight. Thanks."

"I'm just glad you're smiling again," Barry passed a finger under her chin, widening her smile.

It was then that Belén realized she hadn't told him about her mother's latest visit that day. "My mom stopped by again..."

"Oh, Belén..." Barry figured Veronica pushed her again and was prepared to comfort her.

"No! Um...things actually got better," Belén felt weird just saying that sentence about her mother. She was so used to always having problems with Veronica. "She um, she...she made a proposition. She's buying the house from me. She's going to live here, actually, with Axel."

"She still made you give up custody?"

"No, uuh...I agreed," Belén nodded. She drew in a big breath before explaining her reasoning. "I love my nephew, I do, but I'm fully aware that I'm not ready to take care of him nor any child for that matter. I'm trying my best but if things keep going the way the were...I'm going to drown, Barry. I'm just...I'm not ready for it and I just want Axel to be okay..."

Barry set his hands on her shoulders to keep her from going into a long ramble that would eventually turn her face purple due to lack of oxygen. "I get it. You don't need to explain it to me."

"I don't want you to think I'm giving him up like if he were nothing."

"I would never think that. I've seen firsthand how much you love him. If you're making this choice it's because you're sure Axel is going to be okay. He's going to be good."

"I think he will be," Belén said with absolute certainty. "Mom's transferring to the precinct so she'll be around. Who knows, maybe this is our chance at actually having a relationship."

"I'm really happy for you, Bells," Barry said, taking his hands off her shoulders. "I'm glad Veronica finally came to her senses."

"Well..." Belén cleared her throat. Barry noticed her shifting on her chair and wondered what else she had to say. "She didn't come up with it entirely on her own. Maritza...actually inspired her." Barry's eyebrows raised together in shock. "I know," Belén chuckled lightly. "I was just as surprised as you were. Mom told me she visited Maritza and that Maritza basically called her out on everything."

"I mean...that was..." Barry couldn't even find the proper words to commend Maritza for her actions. It certainly brought a lot of happiness for Belén and that made him see Maritza in a new light.

"I'm thankful," Belén bit her lip nervously. "I'm basically getting a second chance with my Mom thanks to Maritza."

"I'm happy for you, a lot," Barry smiled.

Belén stared at him for a minute with a soft smile. "Yeah, things are finally getting better for me."

She got up from her chair and surprised Barry by sitting on his lap. She looped an arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his for a kiss. It was a much awaited kiss that was filled with feelings - some of those feelings were from the very day they'd broken up. Barry wrapped an arm of his around Belén's waist, keeping her steady as well keeping her close to his body. His free hand came to rest on her cheek and repeatedly stroked circles over her skin with his thumb.

They remained like that for a couple minutes until they felt their feelings for each other had been rekindled.

They gazed at each other with the same dazed smiles until someone spoke up.

"I need more dates like this," Belén spoke for the two of them.

Barry thought the same thing and went ahead and kissed her again.

Dinner was pushed back for a couple minutes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Let me just say this chapter was a bit difficult to write for some reason. I re-arranged the order of scenes so much, I'm really hoping it came out good!

On an unrelated note, for some reason (I know, I have a lot of 'for some reasons'), I've been hung up on a new OC story for the Flash. I've had to literally sit down and draft one chapter for this OC, whose name I already picked out. I'm awful xD. It's funny too because as I'm drafting that OC, I'm writing up Belén's story for the Flash's season 4. I'm writing them side by side which actually helps me to make the two OCs different. Even now with one chapter written, I already know Belén is more playful than serious unlike this new OC. Anyways, forgive me for my rambles, I just felt like sharing xD. Feel free to comment on this!

 **For the review:** Awww, thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter then since you were waiting for the Snarts! :)


	4. A New Firestorm

Despite the team's best efforts, professor Stein was still under heavy health risks.

"Hold him steady!" Cisco shouted at Caitlin and Barry who were frantically trying to keep Stein's convulsing body still enough for Cisco to come in with a device similar to the Firestorm splicer. It was just hard to do when Stein kept spontaneously blowing blue flames.

"He's dropping out!" Caitlin anxiously said.

Cisco had managed to get in and put the splicer on Stein's chest, but his fingers fumbled trying to get it activated. "Come on, come on, come on, come on!"

"Cisco, we're losing him!"

But just then Cisco heard the splicer make a 'click!' and pulled back with a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh, Díos mío. Thank God."

"He's getting worse," Barry sighed and stared at the now unconscious Stein. It had been a cycle like this all night and they still had no real ideas on how to stabilize him permanently.

"Look, I did what I could to re-engineer Doctor Wells' original stabilizer to quell the reaction, but I don't know what he used as a power source," Cisco started out the side room. "Best I could find was the one from his wheelchair."

"And how long will that last?" Caitlin wondered as she and Barry followed him out.

"Well, that's the problem, we had already used up most of its energy trying to dampen the metas' powers during our little rogue air trip with Weather Wizard and company. I think we got a few days tops."

"And he's stuck in bed?"

"Yeah, when he wakes up, I'm gonna transfer the stabilizer to this, give him a power cane, get him moving," Cisco moved over to a table to pick up another silver device.

Barry knew that was only a temporary situation and sooner or later Stein would be in trouble yet again. "We gotta figure out a way to save him."

"I think I might know how to do that," Caitlin decided to share her spontaneous idea with them. She headed for the main desk and pulled up Stein's profile up on one of the computers across them. "When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the dark matter that collided with Professor Stein fused with the Firestorm matrix and altered the normal molecular processes that occurs within his body. Those highly reactive molecules needed something to bond with in order to stabilize. But now that Ronnie is no longer a part of Professor Stein-"

"Those molecules don't have anything to bond to," Barry realized the problem.

"And the longer he goes without merging, the more unstable he becomes."

"Ugh," Cisco foresaw a much bigger problem of finding Stein a new replacement. "All right, so, what do we do?"

"We find another... participant."

Cisco shot Caitlin a sarcastic look. "Okay, cool, so, how do we do that? Are we just gonna make a Tinder app for potential meta-humans? 'Cause I'm pretty sure merging with Stein and randomly bursting into flames sounds like the biggest "swipe left" of all time."

Barry disapproved of Cisco's lack of seriousness but did have to agree that it wouldn't such an easy thing finding someone willing to become Firestorm. "I mean, even if we could find someone willing, Stein can't just merge with whoever he wants."

"No he can't, but I have done some research, and found two potential candidates that might be compatible with him," Caitlin typed on the computer to bring up two young men's profiles. "They both were affected by the dark matter, and they were both admitted to the hospital showing symptoms of gene rearrangement mutation. And they both share the same blood type as Professor Stein and Ronnie."

"All right. I mean, this is more than organ donation," Barry felt the need to remind her. "We'll need more than tissue typing to see if their bodies are compatible."

"If I can isolate the genetic locus of the two candidates and cross-reference it with the mutations in Professor Stein, I might be able to find a match and save his life."

"What do you need to do that?"

Caitlin formed an apologetic smile, indicating she would definitely be requiring his speedy abilities.

~ 0 ~

Belén was uncomfortable. She didn't need to say it: her body outright showed it. From the way she awkwardly sat on the metal chair, to the way her hand reached for the prison phone...everything screamed " _I don't know what to do here_ ".

Luckily, Maritza had assumed the reason her sister came to visit. "I'm glad that you and Mom are salvaging the only family relationship left in this...wonky family of ours. I know that with time you'll be close, like it should've been from the start."

Belén gave a low sigh of doubt. As much as she wanted that closeness with her mother, she was aware that it wouldn't happen overnight and that it certainly wouldn't be easy. She told Maritza that, and added her biggest fear: "I can't even be completely honest with her."

Maritza knew she was talking about Belén's double life as a metahuman. "Maybe it's better that she doesn't know."

Belén shrugged and looked to the side in thought. "Despite everything that's happened between us Maritza...I just want to say..." There was a clear struggle for her to say it out loud but she knew Maritza did deserve it this time. "... _thank you_."

Maritza blinked in surprise since she hadn't been expecting that. In fact, she hadn't been expecting any form of gratitude from Belén anytime soon - maybe not even in this lifetime after what she did. "Belén..."

"You did a lot of bad things Maritza but this was something nice..." Belén drew in a breath, "So...thanks. It's better to be friends with my mother than enemies. At least this way I get to see Axel and...he's good. Better, now, actually, since he's living with his grandmother now."

"I'm happy to hear that you're doing better now," Maritza offered a smile that Belén couldn't return. "I saw one of the newspapers with your article in it."

Belén blinked and stared at her sister with curiosity. Her article about the Azalea being alive had finally been published and was so far doing well with the public's response. They were eager and hopeful that their beloved Azalea was still alive. Belén just never expected for her sister to be one of the readers. "You read my articles?"

Maritza smiled again. "Of course I do. You're a hell of a writer and the fact you're making a comeback to the city is amazing. I'm glad that you're doing better, Belén. You deserve that. You deserve...everything."

And just like before coming, Belén didn't know what to do.

~ 0 ~

Barry intended on getting back to STAR Labs as quick as possible after he finished a bit of work at the station. If he continued to make unscheduled leaves then someone would definitely start to notice and that would be the last thing he needed at the moment. He hurried down the stairs with a needed case file in his hands, and in his rush to get to Joe, he bumped into a tall woman who then dropped her purse.

"I-I am so sorry!" Barry went to pick up the purse off the floor. When he looked up to see the woman he was met with familiar-looking brown eyes.

"That's fine," Veronica Green took back her purse with a polite smile. "I wasn't looking where I was going either." In his surprise, Barry couldn't say anything. Veronica tilted her head to examine the young man. "I know you, don't I? I've seen you…"

"Th-the...funeral," Barry stuttered to explain and seeing Veronica's confused gaze he shook his head and began anew. "I'm Barry Allen-" he stuck a hand to shake with hers.

"Oh, right," Veronica shook his hand politely. "You were my daughter's boyfriend."

"Well, not 'was'... _am_ …" Barry watched her awkwardly process that news and wondered if the woman was about to hate him or mildly tolerate him. She didn't appear too friendly at the moment.

"Oh," was all that came out from Veronica's lips.

 _She hates me_ , Barry concluded.

"Barry? Hey!" he then heard Patty call for him and thanked every God he knew of for the distraction. It was incredibly awkward - even for his usual.

Patty came rushing up to him and Veronica, smiling widely. "You'll never guess what I found." But before Barry could even begin to guess she held up a plastic bag of teeth.

"Are those... _teeth_?" Barry made a face.

"Shark teeth," Patty excitedly corrected. "And I have an eyewitness that says he saw a shark walking on land-a man-shark."

"Man-shark?" this time Veronica had spoken up, letting Patty realize she had yet to know who the other woman was. "This city has man-sharks?" Veronica looked at Barry like he had the answers.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Patty inquired.

"Veronica Green," Veronica reached to shake Patty's hand. "I'm transferring from Star City."

"Oh, nice," Patty smiled as she shook the woman's hand. "Patty Spivot. I just started working here too."

"Right, I know. And I'm assuming you're working on...what are they called again? Metahumans?" Veronica's face said it all. It was an absolutely not. The things she was doing for her daughter she could not believe.

"Well…" Patty said after Veronica took an abrupt leave, "...she seems like a cheery one."

"That's actually Belén's mother," Barry watched Veronica head for Singh's office.

"Oh my God," Patty put a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry, I think Belén knows that too."

Patty glanced at him, surprised by his statement.

Barry winced. "Don't...tell her I said that, actually."

"Only if you don't tell her what I said."

"Deal."

The two smiled at each other.

"So, um...do you think that's actually real?" Barry one again looked at the bag of teeth. He had heard and seen of all sorts of metahumans but a shark that walked on land seemed just a bit too much.

"Yeah, I mean, I know it sounds really wacko...but, I mean, nothing seems impossible now that we have meta-humans, right? And I thought it would be fun, you know, for us to work together again on a case."

"Yeah, I mean, I really- I'd love to work on anything with you. Um, it's just, you know, meta-humans aren't really my thing," Barry tried looking as convincing as ever. He didn't want Patty looking too much into the metahuman criminals lest she be kidnapped again.

"Really? I mean...I can handle it myself…"

Then again, if she was going to keep looking into it herself, alone, Barry would rather have an eye on her upclose. "No, you-look, how about I just- I'll run a test, see where the teeth came from."

Patty beamed. "That would be amazing! Thank you!" she handed the bag over to him.

Joe walked out of the office room and saw the bag of shark teeth. "How's your man-shark case coming?" he looked at Patty, amused.

"It's good. I was just gonna go and canvas the area, see what else I can dig up, and Barry here agreed to run some tests for me."

"Really?" Joe raised an eyebrow and looked over to Barry.

"Mm-hmm. So, progress," Patty beamed and said another 'thanks' to Barry before leaving herself.

"For real?" Joe inquired from Barry, eyes trained on the bag of teeth.

"If it's another meta I'd rather know first and lead Patty away from it before something like Sand Demon happens again," Barry explained.

"Mm," Joe walked over to the reception desk to leave behind some papers and then started back for his office.

"Uh, so did you hear we have a new co-worker?" Barry followed after him and glanced at Singh's office where he could see Veronica having an idle chat with him.

Joe followed his gaze to the office and nodded. "Wasn't expecting that from one phone call, I'll tell you that."

"Yeah I don't think she likes me very much…" Barry let his file flop on Joe's desk.

Joe started to laugh. "What parent likes their daughter's boyfriend?"

" _Thanks_ ," Barry said with a straight face. To his dismay, Joe only continued to laugh more. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it up to see who it was. "Hey, you know what, I gotta go. It's Cisco. It's about Professor Stein."

"Okay, go, I'll cover you with Singh," Joe shooed him off and just as Barry turned to leave he heard the man laugh again.

It was _not_ funny.

~ 0 ~

In the cortex, Stein tried out his new makeshift silver cane that was meant to keep him stabilized in the meantime they found a possible firestorm partner. "Well, I must admit, I never imagined the Sphinx's riddle about a man requiring three legs would ever apply to me, but if this device keeps me mobile, then I will gratefully oblige."

Caitlin smiled at the man as he took a small trip in the cortex to test out the cane. "Hopefully, you won't need it for much longer," she gestured to the two profiles of the candidates that could possibly (and hopefully) work to save him. "There was no agglutination in the blood samples, and cross-matching was negative for both, and it appears that the dark matter from the Particle Accelerator explosion mutated their genes in a very similar way it did to yours. I think they're both potential matches."

"So who do we go with?" Belén looked at the two men on the computer screen. She could see one was far younger than the other but as far as she could tell they both matched Stein. "Do we pull popsicle sticks or…?"

Caitlin chuckled and shook her head. "My first choice is Henry Hewitt. He graduated summa cum laude from Hudson University with a double major in Applied Physics and Bioengineering."

"A Hudson boy," Stein said thoughtfully. "I like him already."

"What about this other guy, Jefferson Jackson?" Barry moved up to the computer to take a closer look. "High school quarterback, 4.0 student. He's got the physical attributes. And it looks like more of his alleles match than Hewitt's. Doesn't that mean that he's more compatible?"

Caitlin reluctantly agreed but it was easy to see that she really did prefer Henry. "On paper, perhaps, but Hewitt is a scientist. Clearly, he's trying to make something of his life."

"That's a bit mean to say," Belén sarcastically glanced at Caitlin as if she were scolding the brunette.

"I'm just...I think he'd be open to something like this," Caitlin raised her hands in defense.

"I think we should meet with both of them before we make a decision," Cisco muttered, thinking both candidates would probably have to think about it really hard before being able to come up with a decision.

"That's an excellent idea," Stein agreed.

"I'll see if I can get Hewitt here," Caitlin said fast.

"All right, in the meantime, we'll go meet with Jefferson Jackson," Barry turned back, looking at Belén and Stein for agreement.

"I have to go pick up Axel and bring him to Mrs. Andrews," Belén patted him on the arm.

"Hey, that reminds me," Barry walked up to her while the others dispersed to do their tasks, "I met your mother today at the station."

"Oh yeah," Belén smiled. "She said she started on that transfer thing."

"Um...yeah, it's just…" Barry hated to be the one to tell her because she really did look happy about it, "...I kinda got the feeling she wasn't very happy that we were back together again."

Belén's smile faded a bit as she considered the idea that perhaps never telling her mother they were alright now could've had a bigger influence than she thought. "Oh, oh I'm sorry Barry. You know, that's probably my fault. Last time she heard you were the jerk that broke up with me."

But Barry wanted to say that he felt it was a bit more than just that. There was something about the way Veronica had looked at him earlier that...sort of said she couldn't believe her daughter had chosen _him_.

"Barry, do not worry," Belén assured him it would be fine. She set her hands on his arms and looked so sure of herself, it made Barry dread the outcome if things didn't go her way. "My Mom's a grumpy woman but she's going to try and make things work with me. Once she gets to know you - and knows how happy you make me - she'll warm up to you."

"You think?" Barry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Absolutely," Belén chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. "It'll be fine."

"Okay," Barry relented very quietly. He didn't realize how much it would bother him if Veronica ended up truly not liking him. There was something he'd been meaning to tell Belén but so far was unable to find a suitable moment and place.

Belén mistook his silence as more worry and laughed. She repeated that it would all be fine, gave him a last kiss before truly leaving. On her way out, she missed their newest E-2 visitor lurking behind.

~ 0 ~

Axel bounced on his feet while he waited for his aunt Belén to buy him that ice cream from the ice cream truck. It was his reward for getting a sticker at school that indicated he'd attempted to write his name unlike other students.

"But you know that you won't get a reward every time, right?" Belén asked after giving Axel his Bugs Bunny popsicle. "I'm happy that you're putting an effort but you don't get a reward every time."

"Mhm!" Axel practically waved her off while he licked his popsicle.

Belén playfully rolled her eyes and ushered him towards the car. While she was putting Axel into the backseat, she could've sworn she felt burning eyes on her back. She hurriedly finished adjusting Axel's seat belt then closed the car door. As she moved for the driver's seat she made a diligent look around for anything strange but as far as she could see there were only students being picked up.

 _Get it together Belén_ , she berated herself and opened the driver's door.

She missed the brunette women across the street peering behind another ice cream truck. A dark smile spread across her face as she watched Belén drive off. "Gotcha."

~ 0 ~

When Belén returned to STAR Labs, she found Caitlin in a side room excitedly conversing with one of the chosen candidates for Firestorm. Cisco was sitting at the desk with a grim face at the two.

"What's going on?" Belén dropped in the chair next to him.

"Caitlin got Henry Hewitt to come," Cisco said but sounded nowhere near happy about it.

"What's wrong with him?" Belén asked quick, garnering a confused look from Cisco. "I know you hate him. It's in your voice, stupid."

Cisco smiled and shook his head. Before he got to explaining his reason of dislike for Henry, Barry and professor Stein walked into the room. Seeing them from the side room, Caitlin brought out Henry to meet them.

"Caitlin, what's going on?" Barry frowned at the sight of the man in the room.

Caitlin seemed happier than ever. "I'm glad you're back. This is Dr. Henry Hewitt. This is Barry Allen, Professor Martin Stein and Belén Palayta."

Stein shook hands with Henry. "How do you do?"

Henry seemed in awe. "The illustrious Martin Stein. I've read all your papers back at Hudson, especially on transmutation. Fascinating. You're a legend."

"Kiss-ass," Belén mumbled under her breath but she soon realized it wasn't as quiet as she thought because Cisco had snickered beside her. Even Barry had let a smile slip.

Stein laughed shyly at the praises. "Oh, please. I think you're overestimating my contribution to the field. I-I appreciate your enthusiasm."

Caitlin happily walked to the other three. "Isn't he great?"

"He's got an ego the size of Texas-" Cisco muttered, "-but, yeah, he's alright."

Caitlin rolled her eyes at him. "So, where's Jefferson Jackson?"

"We just need more time," Barry sighed. It turned out the younger candidate was more stubborn than they thought.

"We don't have more time. I couldn't find another power source for the cane and that thing's running out." Cisco didn't really like Henry that much but Stein was running out of time.

"So then...that's it?" Belén asked. "We convince Henry to do it?"

Caitlin smiled. "Oh he's already agreed. We can do the merge right now."

"What do you mean? You told him the details of the Firestorm Matrix?" Barry gave her an incredulous look.

"Absolutely, becoming Firestorm is a huge life change. He needs to know what he's getting himself into."

They were then taken when the two scientists chanted their apparent school's theme.

"Aw, look at that, that's so cute," Cisco sarcastically rose from his chair, smiling impossibly wide. "We'll have two Professor Steins if this works."

Belén laughed. "I don't think anyone could be professor Stein. There can only be one softie scientist here."

Being settled, they gathered up the potential new Firestorm and Cisco stood in front of Henry holding the splicer in his hands, giving Henry a final instruction.

"When I put this splicer on your chest you're gonna feel a rush. That's a molecular primer being released into your body. Then you can make physical contact with Professor Stein, and Firestorm Matrix will take over."

"Easy enough," Henry nodded, but the manner in which he said those words gave the impression he thought it was simple math terms.

"Ready?" Cisco asked both men this time.

"No time like the present," Stein held his cane for Caitlin to take. "Thank you, my dear."

"Okay," Cisco put the splicer on Henry's chest. The device immediately whirred to life as it sprouted three metal bars across Henry's chest.

Both Henry and Stein turned to face each other, their hands reaching to make contact with the other. Their tips flamed on before dying out, leaving the two very much separated.

"Try again," Caitlin encouraged them after a moment of confusion.

They reached out to merge again but not even flames had appeared that time. It appeared that it was not going to work.

"This is unexpected…" Stein pulled his hand back.

"Something's supposed to be happening, right?" Henry shot the others an irritated look. "Why isn't it working?"

Belén didn't like the attitude displayed towards them like it was their fault. "Genius if we knew we wouldn't be having this problem."

Cisco stepped towards the two men to take off the splicer from Henry. "Uh, well, looks like you two aren't compatible after all."

"So all this was for nothing?" Henry now openly snared.

"Believe me, no one is more disappointed than I am," Stein despondently sighed, but Henry flatout ignored the implications of the failure.

"Yeah, don't be so sure about that. Next time, try to get your act together before you get someone's hopes up." Henry stormed out of the cortex.

The group didn't know how to react after that setback. Stein would have to continue muffling through for the moment.

"So, what happens now?" Belén dreaded to ask. She and Barry walked down the street leading up to her house. "If Henry Hewitt can't merge…"

"We have to hope that Jefferson Jackson comes through," Barry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You met him with professor Stein today, right? Did he look interested?"

"Uum…" Barry made a face that said it all.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow," Belén hoped this other candidate would turn out to be better than Hewitt. They walked up to Belén's front porch staircase.

"Is there anyone home?" Barry looked at the dark windows of her house. Belén told him earlier in the day her mother would be staying at a hotel in the meantime they made good on the house deed.

"No, it'll just be me and Axel," Belén moved up to the door to unlock it. "I need to start packing, actually. I'm leaving Axel with Mrs. Andrews for the rest of the day so I can get a head start."

"But you're staying alone in the night?" Barry's tone indicated his outright refusal.

"Relax," Belén rolled her eyes and opened the door, "I doubt Zoom or Datura make house visits."

"I...Bells, do we really want to push that luck? Would it kill you to just stay with Caitlin some more time?"

"No offence to Caitlin, but what exactly makes it more safe at her place than here?" Belén smiled as Barry fumbled over an answer. "It's not like Caitlin has powers. Buuuuut…" she pretended innocence, "...you know, I wouldn't be opposed to some help with packing. _Without_ the speed."

"Oh c'mon," Barry complained but was already coming in after her. Belén giggled while he began making his case on why he should very much be allowed to use said speed.

~0~

The next day, the group was more than happy to see Jefferson Jackson deciding to meet with them. The young man was fascinated by all the scientific machinery set around and had to take a moment to really get the jist of the place.

"I thought S.T.A.R. Labs had to shut down," he remarked after a while.

"You can say it's under new management," Belén innocently waved a hand from her spot at the desk. She figured he looked more or less the same way she did when she first stepped foot in the room a year ago.

"Cool. So, let's get started," Jax clapped his hands. "You got some kind of "Billion Dollar Man" technology that gonna fix my knee?"

Barry realized the other man was under the ruse they would be bringing him back to his regular self. "Actually, Jax, this isn't about fixing your knee."

"What are you talking about?"

"When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the energy wave that collided with you is known as dark matter," Caitlin began explaining.

"And it didn't just hurt your knee," Stein finished for her. "It-it changed the molecular structure of your body."

Jax raised an eyebrow at him. "Whoa, hold on, Grey. So you're saying I'm like one of those meta-humans I keep hearing about on the news?"

Stein was not amused by the little nickname the man had branded him with. "Yes, I am. Please, call me Professor."

"We think you have potential capabilities," Cisco tried to explain next, assuming they were freaking Jax out.

"What kind of capabilities?"

"The same as Professor Stein: the ability for your body to process fission and fusion," Caitlin answered.

Cisco raised the splicer device for Jax to see. "And you can harness excess energy and turn it into these massive nuclear blasts."

"And, if it helps, you can fly," Belén added whimsically, adding a moment later in a low voice, "Wish I could fly."

Jax was bewildered and glanced at Stein sitting on a chair, looking far too, well, old to do all those powers. "So you're saying you can do all this?"

"Only during times of convergence with a willing partner.

"Convergence?" Jax concluded what they needed from him and laughed. "You and me? No, this is crazy."

"No, Jax, this is your chance to right the wrong that was done to you," Caitlin frowned at his careless reaction.

"Yeah, sorry, you got the wrong guy," Jax made a signal he was going to leave. "I don't want nothing to do with this."

Caitlin wasn't going to give up and cut him off. "Wait a second, we are giving you the chance to be a superhero, and you're gonna say no that quickly?"

"Yeah, not my kind of thing," Jax said.

Stein began pushing himself upwards from his chair "If the man isn't willing to participate-"

"Look, I saw your test scores, Jax. Your grades were good enough to get into college, but you didn't go," Caitlin continued on, sounding angrier. "Why? Is this the type of guy you are? One setback and you fold? Well, then maybe you're not the guy for us anyway."

"Caitlin-" Belén meant to stop her but the damage was done.

"Well, maybe I'm not," Jax sourly agreed and stormed out.

"Maybe this just wasn't meant to be," Stein exceptionally walked out as well.

"Caitlin you shouldn't have done that," Belén got up her chair, earning a very sharp look from the brunette in return.

"He said no to being a superhero. Who does that?" Caitlin angrily looked at the others for back up. "I mean, you didn't say no when you had the chance. Cisco, would you?"

Cisco battled through a nervous laugh. "Chance to have superpowers? Sign me up."

"Look, we're asking Jax to change his entire life, to sacrifice what he does have," Barry tried simplifying it for Caitlin, because he thought she'd been a bit hard on Jax too. "I mean, that's not a decision that can be made lightly. It took me a long time to figure out this whole hero thing."

Caitlin still didn't understand. "Exactly, which is why we need someone who wants to do this."

"Where are you going?" Belén watched the woman begin to leave.

"To get Hewitt back. We have to try again," Caitlin said loudly and stormed away.

~0~

Later that day, Barry called in Patty to give her the results of her "shark teeth". As soon as Patty heard the results, she projected grave disappointment.

"Human DNA?" she looked up from the results.

"Yup, definitely not a man-shark. Not even a land shark, Ma'am," Barry laughed but Patty seemed pretty upset.

"Well, thanks for testing it for me," Patty sighed and turned to leave.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Patty stopped and thought for a moment. "I don't know, probably file it under "never gonna happen." I have another case anyway."

"Oh, anything I can help you with?"

"No, no, no, no, Detective said definitely n-not," Patty knew she was being a horrible liar but in her defence she warned Joe she couldn't keep secrets very well. And keeping the newest case that involved apparently the deceased Harrison Wells was a big one.

Barry immediately recognized her off look and worried. "Is everything all good?"

Patty did not make things better by laughing so nervously. "Sure, why?"

"I don't know, you're just acting kind of different…"

"No! No. I'm the same old P. Spivot, you know?" Patty inwardly smacked herself for being so obvious. She needed to leave fast. "I have to go, but thank you so much for testing this, and I'll see you."

Barry couldn't even get an "okay" out when the woman had already rushed out. He decided he would go to Joe himself for some answers. Why wouldn't Joe want him working on a case with them? It wasn't like him.

As Barry was coming down the stairs, he caught sight of Veronica coming out of the main office. Thinking of their oh-so-grand meeting the previous day, Barry thought he would try it again with some better results. He knew Belén was right in that Veronica didn't know him and perhaps they just needed time but it did bother him that this woman decided - out of the blue - that she wouldn't like him.

"Ms. Green?" he called to the woman engrossed with a file in her hands. Soon as she looked up Barry could see her eyes narrow a bit. "Everything...okay?" That was a stupid question but Barry couldn't think of another way to start.

"Of course. I just finished with papers for my transfer. I start this Monday," Veronica informed.

"That's great! I guess we'll be seeing each other more often then," Barry smiled but Veronica just stared.

"Yes…" Veronica didn't have to openly say that she wasn't as thrilled as one would think.

Barry saw that and inwardly sighed. "Ms. Green, I just want to say that I'm very happy you and Bells are working on a new relationship."

"Bells?" Veronica repeated her daughter's nickname with distaste.

"U-uh, sorry, Belén. That's just...what we call her sometimes…" Barry said slowly, seeing no such progress. Veronica still did not lighten up. "Anyways, I just…" he sighed, deciding to simply be honest with how he felt and see what happened from there, "...Belén has suffered a lot, I've seen it, and I think she could really use her mother. She deserves that."

"Yes, well, she deserves _more_ doesn't she?" Veronica openly said instead, jabbing him with her double meaning. Her knowing smile on him didn't make Barry feel any better.

~ 0 ~

"She said that?" Cisco gaped after hearing Barry's story - which was admittedly funny in some point. The two were in the cortex, watching over Axel while Belén went for some coffee in the kitchen of the building.

" _Duuuude_ …" Cisco began to chuckle, much to Barry's offence

"Why does everyone think it's so funny?" he frowned. First Joe, and now Cisco? Next thing he knew Iris would burst out laughing next.

"I mean, it _would_ happen to you," Cisco walked over to the desk where Axel sat. He glanced at the boy who was busy attempting to write his name on paper, oblivious to their talk.

"Thanks," Barry frowned. "I get that not everyone is gonna like me but...this precise woman happens to be Belén's mother. She _has_ to like me."

Cisco smirked as he plopped down on a chair next to Axel. "Right."

"I mean, Bells won over my Dad so quick…" Barry began to pace in front of the desk.

"Well, Belén is adorable, so…" Cisco trailed off when Barry glared for his lack of seriousness. "Alright, no time for jokes, then."

"No," Barry shook his head and came to a stop. He put his hands on the edge of the desk and sighed. "I can...see a future with Belén, I really can, and in that future...I don't see _this_ ," he gestured to the situation.

Cisco raised his eyebrows, able to barely to hold his teasing smile back. "Belén Allen?"

"Hey!" Belén had walked in, eyes wide and on Cisco. "I don't know what you were talking about but I know 'shut up' fits perfectly."

Cisco found it even more difficult not to tease. Belén placed down a mug of coffee for Cisco on the desk, handed Barry his own then took her own.

"So, dare I ask what we were discussing?" she made eyes at Barry who was busy trying not to be as red as possible.

"Auntie Belén! Look at my name!" Axel waved his paper in the air, nearly smacking Cisco on the face a couple times.

"Let me see that before you paper cut this beautiful face of mine," Cisco took the paper from the boy and looked down at the squiggly-lined name. "Well, for a four year old, it's not that bad."

"It's my homework," Axel said proudly.

"Great job, Axel," Belén mused after seeing the paper. "Least your name isn't Annah-Belén with a hyphen and everything," she shook her head and shot Barry a look. "You and I know about long names, don't we Bartholomew?"

The speedster silently glowered.

"You guys," Caitlin came rushing into the room seeming very concerned.

"What's wrong?" asked Barry, but Caitlin came directly for the computers. She said nothing as she typed and pulled up a page on the one of the computers up on the wall.

It was a news-reporter in the middle of a newscast, the byline underneath reading something about questioning a Henry Hewitt.

"What's…?" Belén blinked at the screen.

"There was a scene at Mercury Labs where apparently Hewitt showed some sort of metahuman abilities," Caitlin explained, sighing deeply. "He nearly hurt one of his bosses and the witness said he was unusually aggressive."

"But...he has powers now?" Belén looked at the others for some help understanding that.

"Hewitt's dormant abilities must have been triggered when we attempted the merger," Barry realized.

"And that could be catastrophic," Caitlin crossed her arms. "If his powers are anything like professor Stein's then he requires a grounding mechanism to stabilize his volatility."

"Yeah, he's gonna pop his top," Cisco scoffed, wondering if he hadn't done it on his own already. The man seemed to carry a temper with him anyways. "And considering he's got a long history of violence - according to his police record - we probably don't have much time."

"Police record?" Barry threw a look over to Caitlin.

"I didn't find a police record," the brunette said defensibly.

Cisco scoffed. "Yeah, of course not, it was sealed, but guess what, ya boy hacked in and-" he started on the computer, "-hold on, wait for it."

"Yowzah," Belén's eyes roamed the heavy police record Cisco pulled up for them.

"One count battery, two counts aggravated assault, court-ordered anger management therapy," Cisco listed.

"He seemed like such a nice guy," Caitlin said dejectedly.

"Looks are deceiving," Belén remarked.

"Professor Stein is getting worse. And Hewitt's like this because of me. And now Jefferson Jackson will never come back because of what I said," Caitlin felt completely guilty for the mess she thought she was responsible for. "I just didn't believe that he has what it takes."

"This isn't because you didn't believe in him," Barry made her stop for a moment. "Sometimes, great possibilities are right in front of us, and we don't see them, because we choose not to. I think that we need to be open to exploring something new."

Caitlin valued his words, she did, and nodded her head. "I'm gonna go fix it," she mumbled and turned to leave.

"We have to keep an eye on professor Stein," Cisco got up from his chair. "Time is running out."

"Yeah," Belén moved over for Axel. "We'll be back later, then. I promised my mother I would show her my new place. Which reminds me…" she started smiling at Barry, with purpose, "...I know I said no speed for moving out, but...considering I'm a bit behind…"

"I got it," Barry nodded, promising her. "I'll go in later tonight, don't worry."

"Thank you," Belén ushered Axel off his chair and the two walked off.

"So...we're just not gonna tell her that her mothers hates you?" Cisco curiously looked after Belén.

"No," Barry replied instantly. With a warning finger for Cisco to keep quiet as well, he walked out too.

~ 0 ~

As soon as Belén had gotten word from her mother she was waiting for her back in their old home, Belén did her best to get there on time. If there was one thing her mother despised it was tardiness.

"My toys!?" Axel gasped the moment he saw various boxes already piling up around the living room. "Auntie Belén, are my toys in there!?"

"Don't worry Axel, your things are in your room," Belén assured as she closed the door. "Mom?" she called, leaving her purse on a stand by table.

Veronica walked out from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. Axel was delighted to see his grandmother and ran forwards to hug her. "Grandma, wanna play with my toys with me?" he asked excitedly.

"Not right now, sweetheart," Veronica smiled at him, speaking a soft voice. Belén honestly couldn't see that version of her mother as, well..her _mother_. It was always arguments and bickering with the others.

"Aaaw," Axel pulled back and turned away.

"Axel, go on out to the backyard for a moment," Belén instructed the child.

"Okay!"

"But stay away from Aunt Belén's flowers, alright?"

"Yes!" Axel promised and rushed for the back door.

"So you've been packing…" Veronica lowered her glass to observe the room. "I checked upstairs and...you're almost completely packed too."

"Yeah," Belén shrugged. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible."

"You know I'm not kicking you out-"

"No, yeah, I know that," Belén promised her. "I just…" her eyes began to look around the familiar living room, "...don't like being here anymore. There's too many bad things, memories...I can't continue living here if I want to function normally."

"You're almost set then," Veronica gestured to the packing boxes behind them. "I'm surprised you packed so fast."

"I had help from Barry, Mom," Belén rolled her eyes.

"Oh," Veronica could not help the face expression that settled.

Belén saw it too and frowned. "Oh c'mon, are you actually not liking him? Barry mentioned it but I just thought he was being dramatic."

"He told you that?" it appeared Veronica was offended and yet, upset that apparently Barry had disclosed this information.

"Well gee, Mom, considering I'm his girlfriend and he just met my Mom who created such a negative image of him...yeah, he did mention it because he was upset."

Veronica made a small noise and shook her head. She brought her glass to her lips and drank.

"Can I just ask what is the problem?" Belén sighed, so completely done with arguments between them. "You know nothing of me, and then you have the audacity to hate my boyfriend whom you've never even properly met."

"The last time I heard he broke up with you in a very harsh way," Veronica tilted her glass, pretending to be interested in the swirling water. "And that left you so bad you decided to go to a psychologist."

"Hey-" Belén struck a sharp finger at her mother, "-that was because of Maritza, Axel, Rayan, and the frikin black-hole that appeared in the sky as well! I decided to go to Dr. Baeva for _me_. I decided I wanted to feel better, to _be_ better so I went for professional help."

"Belén-"

"No, Mom, you're being unfair," Belén said softly. "I bet grandma and grandpa were against at least one of your boyfriends when you were my age. And how about Nona Enger? Remember how that feels?"

Veronica's lips twitched into a smile. "Your father's mother was an outright..." she definitely wouldn't finish that sentence out loud.

"Can't you at least give him a chance?" Belén asked. "One dinner - that's all I'm asking. You can get to know Barry and see that he's really sweet and...and dorky, I'm not gonna lie," she smiled. "But overall he is someone that I can truly think about having a future with."

Veronica's attention was drawn most by the last statement. "That much, huh?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

Belén nodded. "Yes."

Veronica gave a small nod as she thought about the deal proposed. "Okay-" Belén's eyes widened, "-I accept. One dinner-" she raised a finger, "-this weekend."

The biggest smile spread across Belén's face. "Oh my God, thank you!" she rushed up to Veronica and surprised her with a large hug.

Belén rarely hugged her.

~ 0 ~

By the time Belén returned to STAR Labs, much had happened. But it was to her delight to learn that Jax had come through and merged successfully with professor Stein, creating a new Firestorm. Unfortunately, she also learned that Henry Hewitt was up and about again attacking people. Barry and the new Firestorm had gone out to stop him.

"You sure Jax can handle this?" Belén anxiously stood behind Caitlin and Cisco at the desk. "He did just get his powers…"

"He has this," Caitlin assured with a new sense of faith in Jax.

"Plus, he has professor Stein in his head," Cisco added with a wag of his finger.

Belén agreed it was true but it still didn't diminish all her concerns.

"Hey, guys, cutting the power didn't work," Barry's voice came through the speakers. "It's like the more we anger him, the stronger he gets."

"Powers based on emotions? Hm," Belén pretended to think for a moment, "Now where have I seen that before."

"That's it," Caitlin realized. "The more powerful he becomes, the more unstable they become. Barry, make him angry, and he'll blow his fuse."

"Are you saying that I'm unstable?" Belén shot the brunette a look.

Caitlin made an apologetic face.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back when you can go full-on Azalea again," Cisco nudged Belén on the side. "Imagine what new sides you can unlock."

When all was said and done, Henry Hewitt was brought back to STAR Labs and placed in the pipeline where he would not be able to tell a soul of what he learned in the recent week. It appeared like his powers had diminished with his last fight. Now as the new firestorm prepared to leave to begin training again, the group went on to say their goodbyes.

"Why Are we going to Pittsburgh again?" asked Jax after hearing Stein mention it to Joe.

"A colleague of mine was monumental in helping train Ronald and me. She's graciously offered to help the two of us as well."

"How's she gonna help us?"

"Well, there were many aspects of our abilities that we never quite achieved. Hopefully now, we can fully realize that potential." Stein said hopefully and turned to say goodbye to Caitlin. "Oh, my dearest Dr. Snow. Ronald may be lost to us, but he will never be forgotten."

Caitlin hugged him goodbye.

"Okay but when you start flying...take a picture dammit," Belén told Jax, making him laugh. "I mean it. That view would be phenomenal."

"I think they'd have more to do, Bells," Barry came by for her.

"I was just saying...you know, if you got a chance," Belén casually waved her hand on her side.

Cisco approached them with the splicer in hand, excitedly apparently. "I went ahead and recalibrated the splicer so the merging should be even smoother now."

"Are you ready, Jefferson?" Stein asked the younger man. With a nod, Jax moved over so that the two would merge better.

"All right," Jax said after merging, still sounding surprised of his new ability. He erupted in flames and flew up into the sky.

"I really want that picture," Belén mumbled under her breath.

"Yeah c'mon," Barry tugged her by the hand. "You want to get lunch?"

"Mhm! So I can tell you the big news I have," Belén excitedly revealed.

"Interesting," Barry hummed in thought. He said a goodbye to the others and took off with Belén for Jitters.

"So, I talked to my Mom," Belén began as soon as they entered the place.

"You did…?" Barry made a face behind her.

"Yes, and I don't want you to freak out or anything but...she doesn't exactly favor you."

"No?" Barry feigned perfect surprise. "I wasn't dreaming?"

Belén sighed. "Nope. But I got her to give you a chance. You think you can do dinner with her and me this weekend?" there was a heavy alarm in Barry's face that questioned the sanity of the plan. Belén clapped her hands together, ready to plead. "I promise it will be just fine. You just have...to be yourself."

"I don't mean to be rude but I think 'being myself' is what got me into this situation in the first place," Barry released a breath he'd been holding in.

"She doesn't know you," Belén persisted. "She knows a part of you that...that wasn't you. Please say you'll do it? Pretty please?"

"Oh, sure, use that face on me, how can I refuse?" Barry sarcastically said.

"So...you'll come then?"

"Yes, of course I will," Barry nodded. "But you have to do one thing in return."

"What is it?"

"Don't leave me alone with her," Barry pleaded with a shaking voice.

Belén laughed but agreed nonetheless. Throughout the rest of their lunch, which turned out to last much later, Belén started giving Barry helpful tips for when they met with Veronica later that weekend. While Belén was confident that her mother would end up liking Barry she also thought that a little help couldn't hurt either. When they were finished, the two arrived at the CCPD for different reasons. Belén promised Patty they would have that pending coffee night - which switched to a movie night considering Belén had just come back from Jitters. Barry had a bit of work to finish before he could call it a night.

"So, any movie you're interested in seeing?" Belén asked Patty as the two walked out of the station.

"Something actiony?" Patty suggested and Belén just laughed.

"A cop wants to watch an action movie I'm not surprised!"

But the two had barely made it across the street when a loud clash stopped them in their tracks. Green vines had wrapped around trash cans and threw them towards the two women. They lunged in opposite directions to avoid being hit. Soon as Belén looked up she saw a woman in a glimmering green bodysuit and long ginger hair coming for her. There were bits of green plants adorning the corner of her eyes.

"What are you-"

The ginger made a wag of her finger and struck forwards a hand. Belén was hit with a thick vine tendril and blasted back against a street pole, effectively knocking her out.

"Oh my God!" Patty didn't waste a minute and whipped out her gun, taking aim at the ginger who was coming for them. "Put your hands in the air!"

But the ginger smirked and reached a hand out, making Patty begin to shoot. Poison Ivy swiveled with her vines to avoid the bullets successfully. Hearing the bullets, Barry appeared as the Flash to see what the trouble was and came to the horror sight instead.

"Flash," Poison Ivy's lips curled into a delighted smile. "Zoom wants you dead. But for now I'm here to collect for Datura."

"Over my dead body," Barry frowned. He sped Patty and Belén into the station and then returned. Poison Ivy had yet to even blink.

"Don't make me hunt my prey at this hour," Poison Ivy's darkened red lips curled into a sinister smile.

"Why are you hunting her in the first place?" demanded Barry.

"For Datura, of course," Poison Ivy held her hands out, ready to attack when someone blasted her with a high-tech gun. She cringed and fell forwards to reveal a hooded man.

The hooded figure made to leave just as he'd appeared but Barry sped after him. "Who the hell are you?" he grew tired of asking the same questions.

When the hooded man pulled down his hood, Barry wished he would have never asked.

The man turned out to be Harrison Wells.

From afar, the same brunette women who had watched Belén now watched the scene unfold with satisfaction. "Here we go," she glanced in the direction of the precinct with flashing red eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Aaaaand we're started getting into the good parts! We finally get to meet Poison Ivy (whom I literally envision as Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy) and we'll soon get to meet Datura herself.

Apologies because I truly did mean to have this updated a lot earlier but I had an unexpected rushed visit to the emergency room and then I actually got sick days later.

P.S I did also update the companion story to this which is a collection of one-shots between Belén & Barry. It's under the name ' _It's So You'._ Go check it out!


	5. Three Words

**Earth 2, Central City**.

Datura was a well known thief and murderer on Earth 2. Her city of preference? Central City. And she wasn't just any random metahuman: she was one of the lucky metahumans chosen by Zoom to be part of his crew. Not only that, she was his preferred choice of weapon. Whenever there was a metahuman who needed to be reminded of their place, Datura was called upon. Her siphoning powers were a threat to anyone looking for trouble.

So, for Datura to start making fewer and fewer appearances in the city was noteworthy by other metahumans and even the humans.

" _Where is she? Is she coming to get us? Is she hiding?_ " a woman's mocking voice filled the space of a greenhouse. She waved one gloved finger side to side that manipulated a brilliant red flower on a plot. The flower bloomed and closed then grew and shrunk. "These metas are delusional if they think I won't come for them if they screw up."

Poison Ivy walked into the greenhouse and heard her partner's self talk. She smirked. "Oh, you wouldn't be missing them, would you? Who of all? Killer Frost, maybe? No, wait, Reverb?"

Datura straightened on her feet and turned to face her partner. "That icy bitch is only looking to take my place at the top of the food chain. Reverb is eating out of my palms even more now."

Poison Ivy set her hands on her hips. "Don't worry about them, worry about yourself. the plan worked. Wells is with the team right now on Earth 1, and I'm sure he's going to do everything he can to get their trust." A mild laugh slipped through her lips. "Not like he had much of a choice."

Datura brought her hand to the red flower pinned on her hair. It was a datura and it was probably the most lively, brilliant flower in that greenhouse. Its dark scarlet shade contrasted with her dark brunette hair, which was primp and hanging in loose curls over her chest. Her chocolate brown eyes darted to the side while she thought about Harrison Wells. "Having your daughter kidnapped is quite the motivation. My only thing is that I am impatient."

Poison Ivy knew that well. She walked towards Datura, only leaving a small space between them while she shot Datura a warning look. "But you will control that, right?"

"Sure," Datura pushed past Poison Ivy and made a leave to anywhere but there.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin and Cisco were battling the urge not to attempt to throw Earth 2's version of Harrison Wells into their pipeline. The man, brought in by Barry after their run-in the previous night, was skimming a couple pages of the autobiography of his E-1's doppleganger in such a casual manner.

"Very strange to be holding your autobiography, especially when you didn't write it and it's not about you," he remarked after a moment, his blue eyes raising to see the two staring scientists.

"It's not possible," Caitlin continue to say as if it would make the man pop out of existence.

"I thought Barry explained already?" Wells snapped shut the book in his hands and meant to place it on a nearby table but instead saw that both Caitlin and Cisco retracted one large step away from him. "I already told you that-"

"No, let me get this straight," Cisco waved a hand for him to stop. "You're the doppelganger of the man who murdered Barry's mom and Belén's father and is responsible for both Ronnie and Eddie's deaths?"

Caitlin tilted her head as she considered how true this was. "Yeah, but he's not even the doppelganger of the Dr. Wells that we knew because that Dr. Wells' body had been taken over by the Reverse Flash, who was really Eobard Thawne and Eddie's distant relative from the future."

Wells didn't even try to keep up with any of that. "Yeah, I didn't follow any of that. I'm my own man. I had nothing to do with the murder of your friend's mother or your friend Ricky."

"His name was Ronnie," Caitlin frowned.

"Him either."

"Belén, calm down-" they began to hear Barry's voice along with Belén's voice carrying in from the entrance.

"No! I have to see if it's the truth!" the other metahuman was shouting back.

"But you have to rest-"

"If I hear one more person saying that-" Belén strode into the room with purpose until she saw Wells standing there.

Barry walked in after her, anxiously looking from her to Wells. After last night, she had been cared for by her mother and had only recently learned that there was another version of Wells - who apparently was good - lurking on the same world.

"It's... _you_ …" she said quietly.

"Yes," Wells grew tired of confirming.

"You murdered my Dad," the words tumbled out of Belén's mouth on instinct.

" _No_ , I didn't," Wells rolled his eyes. He was getting sick of being accused of crimes he hadn't committed.

Belén had lost her initial hatred and was once again reminded of her losses. "You should... _not_ be here…"

Barry slipped an arm around her when he saw her getting more upset. He knew this would happen and was part of the reason he advised her to just stay away from STAR Labs until she was well rested.

"You told me you have proof of your identity?" he asked of Wells, hoping to change subjects at least for a moment.

Wells reached into the black sling backpack and pulled out Professor Stein's old monitor device he had thrown into the breech a couple days ago. "This almost hit me when I went through the portal. Your stabilized breach downstairs connects directly to the S.T.A.R. Labs on my Earth."

Caitlin saw her device and moved over to take it from him. "Technically, this could be mine, but I want to run some tests on you."

"I'll be genetically indistinguishable from my Earth-1 counterpart. Your tests will reveal nothing."

"Great! Still gonna run 'em."

"Why are we even listening to him?" Cisco asked out loud, not caring if Wells heard. "How do we know he's not evil like the other guy?"

"He took down that metahuman last night that nearly killed Belén," Barry explained. "Question is why."

"For Datura," Belén explained quietly. "That woman was Poison Ivy. Jay talked about her, remember? She and Datura are thick as thieves and if Datura sent Poison Ivy after me-"

"-you're next," Harry bluntly finished for her and missed the heavy glares of disapproval of the others.

Belén did her best to make it seem like his words hadn't affected her, but that was a lost battle before it even got started. She did a quick glance around the room to see the reactions of the others, and when she saw sympathy - which she mistook for pity - she made a quick excuse that she was going to train instead.

Wells knew exactly what his words caused and he had to stick by them. He would do anything if it meant keeping his daughter safe. If it meant he would be on Earth 1 under the guise as a helper to the team then so be it.

~0~

A heavy vine struck a life size cutout of Shawna Baez and cut it in half. There was no rest between that cutout and the next because Belén had twisted her body to throw a second, probably heavier, vine striking the second cutout through the chest. She yanked her vine back and broke the cutout with the second blow.

"Belén?" Barry nearly yelped a second later when Belén turned with a threatening vine directed his way. He may or may not have ducked halfway too.

Seeing him pulled Belén out of her training mode. The emerald green scales on her skin faded within seconds until she was herself again. "Sorry," she released a tired breath.

"I'm good. And by the looks of those cutouts so are you," Barry took a good look around and saw that most of the cutouts meant for target practice were in pieces. "Cisco's not going to be so happy, though."

A small smile came to Belén when she thought of Cisco's reaction seeing all his cutouts destroyed. "He can update. Maybe add in Datura and Poison Ivy for me. I think that's the only way I'll see them down."

"Don't say that," Barry's warning was answered with a scoff.

"They got me in one go, Barry. That's just embarrassing," she walked towards the table set for their equipment and picked up a water bottle. "I haven't been out in a while, I've lost my game. And now Poison Ivy knows that, which means Datura will too."

"I think you're putting too much thought in this," Barry sighed seeing her so worked up and even more stressed. Granted he felt the same towards Zoom but he did feel some comfort knowing that there was Jay to help him out training wise. After all, Jay had already fought Zoom which meant he would have a good idea of Zoom's tactics.

Belén took a big drink out of her water bottle then responded, "Am I? Because I think I'm giving it a pretty decent amount of thought. Poison Ivy kicked my ass in two seconds-flat. That can't happen again. And it _won't_ ," she moved around him and headed back for the training area.

"Belén, Bel - c'mon," Barry turned after her. "It's not a good idea to train when you have all this on your mind. Datura, Poison Ivy, Wells-"

Belén pointed a warning finger at him to stop right there. "I'm not having that discussion about Wells. That man-"

"Is not the Dr. Wells we know," Barry tried to explain as best as possible.

"How do we know that!? I mean, the Dr. Wells from this world waited 15 years to show his real face," Belén argued logically. "Imagine what this one will do?"

"I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and-"

" _How_!?" Belén exclaimed. "How can you even look at him?"

Without thinking, Barry raised his voice and answered back in a half-shout. "You think this is easy for me? The guy looks, moves, sounds exactly like the guy that drove a knife through my mother's heart. I have to resist the urge to kill him. I'm trying my best to get past that, okay?"

Belén's anger faltered almost instantly. She had been too caught up in her feelings to remember what Barry was probably going through as well. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment, eyes lowering.

Barry sighed, feeling guilty he'd gone off on her like that. "No, I'm sorry. I just...maybe, he's like Jay, you know? Maybe he really is here to help and right now I will take what I can get. He says he wants to help us. He's responsible for metahumans on Earth 2."

"Great, so he created Zoom and Datura. Yeah, he _should_ be helping then," Belén shook her head.

"So he probably knows them better than Jay. We can use that to our advantage and save ourselves."

Belén considered that a deep advantage she sure wouldn't want to lose. "Fine. He gets one chance-" she raised an index finger, "-but if he ruins it I'll show him who's really the top Poison plant metahuman."

Barry laughed while she continued to spew out more threats. "Alright then, point made."

Belén was about to go back to training when she heard her phone buzzing on the table. She came back to check on it and saw it was a text from her mother. "That's my Mom. She's confirming if we're still having dinner with her tomorrow."

"Absolutely," Barry smiled widely even though on the inside he was feeling more scared than when he faced metahumans.

As Belén texted back the confirmation, she received another text but from Cisco. He'd gotten another vision that showed another breacher at the city's bank. Without much detail, she alerted Barry by using a little white lie of a reason how she knew this from Cisco. She also convinced him to go on with out her because...

"I want my comeback to be big, and I want it to be facing Poison Ivy or Datura."

"Be careful what you wish for," Barry warned, dropping a kiss on her lips before speeding off.

"Yeah," Belén drew in a breath with worry. Her mind kept replaying that horrible scene of Poison Ivy knocking her out. _I **have** to be better_, she repeated to herself.

~0~

"You just shouldn't keep them a secret," Belén said first and foremost after catching Cisco coming into the building. "I know what I'm telling you."

They were now walking for the cortex after getting word from Barry he was back and without the breacher.

"I'm working on it, Bells," Cisco meant to promise but Belén knew better than to believe it.

"So I look that big of an idiot?" she scoffed. "You're scared, you don't like powers so you're just gonna keep them hidden. Sounds familiar, honestly."

"I'm not like you!" Cisco blurted and immediately regretted it. "I-I did not mean it like that-"

"It's fine, Cisco," Belén assured. "Maybe I over made my point. I just...I want you to understand that keeping your powers a secret, trying to push them away, isn't good."

Cisco acknowledged her good intentions with a nod of his head. The two entered the cortex where Barry was already explaining to Wells - or Harry, as Cisco had dubbed him - about the metahuman he'd met earlier.

"So who's this metahuman that outsmarted you?" Belén teased, earning herself a mock-glare from Barry in return.

"Her name is Doctor Light," Harry responded after taking a bite of his fries. "Small-time thief on my Earth until exposure to the dark matter from the Particle Accelerator and became a meta-human with the ability to derive power from starlight."

"Oh, very cool," Cisco said with eyebrows raised.

"Stars having a temperature of 5,300 degree kelvin and a blinding luminosity, I would say, 'Not very cool at all.'"

Cisco frowned at him. "You know, our Dr. Wells may have been evil, but you're just a dick."

"Okay, so obviously, Zoom brought her here from your Earth like the others," Barry said before the two got into an actual argument.

"Mm-hmm. Now that we know that, we can use that to gain advantage," Harry turned for the desk to retrieve his soda drink.

"How do you mean?" Belén asked, crossing her arms.

"We capture Doctor Light and use her to lure Zoom here."

At the same time, Jay came in - or stormed into - the cortex looking pretty angry. "You are insane!" he started shouting, apparently for Wells. "Okay, we are not luring Zoom anywhere!"

Caitlin scurried in after Jay, making way for her friends. "Apparently, they know each other, and Jay is not a fan."

"Think we got the message," Belén's eyes flickered from Harry and Jay anxiously.

Harry was truly surprised by Jay's presence. Neither Datura - or Poison Ivy - for that matter, had told him this was where their version of the Flash had gone off to. "Well, well, well. Like everyone else, I assumed Earth-2 Flash was dead. Why am I not surprised to find Jay Garrick here, still alive and in hiding a full universe away from Zoom?"

"I'm not in hiding," Jay scowled. "Zoom nearly killed me and had Datura siphon my speed before the Singularity pulled me here!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, apparently amused by the story. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Well, whatever the case, in your absence, Zoom has only gotten more powerful, faster. Barry, you have to defeat Zoom now while you still can."

Barry barely opened his mouth when Jay spoke again. "No, this isn't the time to be reckless. We don't even know why Zoom sent Doctor Light here. She's a thief, not a killer."

"Zoom can make people do things out of character!" Harry nearly shouted. He felt that really drove things home for himself considering the true reason he was there. He glanced at Barry. "Thief or not, she'll kill you."

"All right, look, hey, we can decide what to do with Light later," Barry spoke over the two. "First, we have to find her, okay?"

Harry made an almost triumphant smile as he grabbed his soda off the desk and purposely - probably - took loud slurps.

"Cisco, did you get any information off her?" Barry asked, startling Cisco. "You were here earlier, did you get anything from the security feed?"

"No, he wasn't," Harry said before Cisco could.

"Shut up, yes he was," Belén said rather fast, earning herself three different looks from them. "Cisco, you were here when Dr. Light attacked, remember?"

Cisco quickly understood it was the excuse she had used to get Barry to go after Dr. Light and hurried to make it work. "Oh, right! Um, I didn't get anything-" he looked at the confused Barry, "-but I think I can get the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to scan for any irregular solar radiation emissions to find Doctor Light's light."

That seemed to pacify Barry's confusion, but not Harry's suspicions.

"Okay, I'm gonna also call Joe, see if CCPD has any leads. Why don't we keep them apart until I get back?" Barry gestured to the two E-2 men behind them.

"I am sure that won't be a problem," Caitlin mumbled.

"I gotta go finish packing," Belén sighed, thinking it was best to finally get that out of the way. It didn't look like she would be of much help anyways. "Think you can handle those two?" she asked Caitlin.

"Oh, I think I can," the brunette nodded with much certainty.

"Think you can give me a lift, then?" Belén looked to Barry with a sheepish smile.

"C'mon," he reached for her hand to lead her out. She giggled as he waved goodbye to the others.

"Are you helping me today?" she asked once he had brought her back to her place.

"Not right now, I have to finish some work," he regretted to say. He would much rather spend some time with her - which hadn't been as easy to do lately - than go to work. "But I promise you I will make some time to help you."

"Good," Belén wagged a finger at him. "Because I'm having furniture being moved to my apartment and I could really use an opinion of where it should go."

"Oh, so you don't want me to move it?"

"Mm...don't take offence, but...I don't think you could handle it."

"Oh," Barry made a face. "Well then…"

"That sounded mean," Belén closed her eyes.

"No, no...I mean, first of all you say that I can't be 'dangerous-"

"Are we really going to do that again?"

"I'm just repeating what you're saying-"

"Barry, c'mon!"

"No, no," Barry moved around her, feigning utter offence. "I guess I'll just go to my job...be a nerd, whatever…"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "Are we really-"

"It's fine," Barry repeated with a dramatic sigh afterwards.

"Barry? Can we not-"

"I'll see you later, Bells," he waved goodbye and sped off.

Belén couldn't help but laugh. "What a dork," she said to herself and turned to go into the house behind.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Dr. Light made a promptly appearance in the city again. This time, she was hitting the richer parts of a bank: a prime vault. Barry was alerted and hurried to catch her. Dr. Light was not surprised to find the Flash there again.

"I know Zoom sent you here to kill me," Barry stepped towards her but eyed her glowing hands. "Good news, you don't have to do that."

Dr. Light gave a tight smile. "Not if I can get out of town with the cash."

"And then what? Zoom's not gonna like that you ditched him, right? My friends and I can help you."

"Nobody can protect me from Zoom!" Dr. Light's voice suddenly shook. "He gets what he wants, and what he wants is you dead."

"I've heard," Barry nodded.

"And if I don't kill you, he'll kill me or have my powers siphoned. I'm not looking for either to happen." Dr. Light's hands glowed even more powerfully, forcing Barry to close his eyes for a moment.

"All right, why don't we take it down a lumen, have a normal conversation, all right? We're aware of the problems...but we can help. Please?"

Light sighed, but taking a chance she did as told. She made her helmet's visor rise to reveal her true identity…

"Linda? Linda Park?" Barry said without realizing.

Earth 2's version of Linda seemed even more scared than before. "How do you know my name?"

"I don't understand…"

"This was a mistake." Linda lowered her visor and used her powers, a blinding light that brought Barry to his knees, to make her escape.

"Barry, what's happening?" Cisco's voice rang through Barry's earpod after a deadly silence.

Barry opened his eyes to see nothing but blurriness. "I can't see. Guys, I can't see!"

~ 0 ~

Caitlin flashed a red light across Barry's eyes to give him a final conclusion of his sight.

"I still can't see," Barry impatiently waited for his quick healing powers to kick in. All he saw was fuzziness. "How long is this gonna last?"

Caitlin retracted the light and sighed. "You're suffering from solar retinopathy. Your retinas are severely damaged. You're lucky you're not permanently blind."

"But with your rapid regeneration abilities, your sight should return soon," Jay threw in to keep the metahuman calm.

"6.25 hours by my estimation," Harry clarified. Jay glared but this time said nothing. "All this could have been avoided if you just stopped Light instead of chitchatting with her."

"She caught Barry off guard," Jay argued but it wasn't enough.

"Always an excuse with you, right? He's the fastest man alive. How could she possibly do that?"

"Because Light looks exactly like my friend, Linda Park," Barry revealed, freezing both Caitlin and Cisco with the news.

"That's why Zoom sent her... because he knew you'd hesitate," Harry was quick to point out.

"That means Zoom had to have known somehow that Linda was your friend," Cisco got to thinking. It meant Zoom knew a lot more about them than they thought.

"Which is why Barry has to act now, before Zoom sends another double from Barry's life," Harry added. He wondered how easy it would be for either Zoom or Datura to defeat their doppelgangers is this was how they reacted to meeting someone they knew.

"All right, right now, I'm more worried about Linda," Barry said before anyone else could add something more. "When I saw who was under the mask, I said her name. What if Light didn't even realize that she had a doppelganger here until I accidentally told her?"

"The first thing that Atom Smasher did when he crossed the breach was to kill his doppelganger," Cisco remembered.

"Yeah, but Light's not like Atom Smasher," Jay insisted.

"We should keep an eye on your Linda," Harry advised.

"All right, I'll go," Barry got up fast and bumped into Caitlin who was returning.

"Oh!" the brunette woman stumbled back.

"Sorry," Barry apologized and somehow turned to leave the side room. In his attempt, he crashed into the threshold.

"Barry!" Jay hurried to help him out before he truly hurt himself again. "Okay, okay. You can't do anything until your sight returns." He brought Barry towards the desk. "C'mon, here's the little rail here." Barry was unhappy as his hands were forced to hold the rail of the desk. "I'll do it."

"I'll go with you!" Caitlin volunteered and followed after him.

At the same time, Iris rushed in. "Hey, Barry! I came as soon as I heard…" she made it only two steps in when she saw Harry. "You look just like him!"

Harry had become accustomed to these sorts of greetings and merely asked from Cisco beside, "I'm guessing my counterpart did something to offend her as well?"

"Her fiancé died because of him."

"Oh," Harry made a face but clearly was not at all interested in hearing more. He walked away without another word.

"Iris, I know it's weird seeing him…" Barry began to speak, hoping to talk her out of any concerns she was having.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to process lately. Wells, my mother..."

"How are you doing with that, by the way?"

"I mean, now that she's gone, okay," Iris answered honestly. She was thankful that Belén had urged her to research on her mother because of she hadn't then Iris would've never figured out what Francine was hiding.

"Yeah, Iris, um, look. You know you can talk to me about it-"

"Yeah, I know, but really, I'm fine, okay? I should be asking how you're doing."

"I'm gonna get out there now," Belén walked in seeming mighty upset.

"Uh oh, that's her mad voice," Iris chuckled.

"I don't know who this breacher thinks she is-"

"Linda Park, actually," Barry answered for her, cutting her off.

"What?" she blinked. She walked over to him and Iris, settling a hand on his arm to let him know where she was.

"Dr. Light turned out to be Linda's doppleganger. It's why she caught me off guard."

"It's gonna make it a lot more difficult to punch her…" Belén murmured.

"Bells, I'm fine, just...a little in the dark-"

"That's not funny," went both Belén and Iris.

Belén heard her phone ring once and dug inside her purse to see who it was. "Oh," she said once she opened the text from her mother.

"What's wrong?" Barry asked, detecting her suddenly change demeanor.

"It's just…" Belén felt bad reminding him, "...we were supposed to have dinner with my Mom today, remember?"

"Oh my God," Barry closed his eyes. Of course he remembered _now_. This really would happen today of all days.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna tell her it's not happening today-"

Barry re-opened his eyes and wildly gestured her not to. "Don't!"

"Barry, you can't see!"

"Hey, your Mom is big on first impressions and I already ruined mine six months ago. I'm not doing it again."

"You can't see, it's gonna be difficult for you and-"

"-I'll make it work," Barry insisted. "I have to."

"Why put yourself through that?" Belén made a face of confusion.

"Because I lo-" Barry had abruptly stopped when he realized what he was going to say, and how it had nearly been an _instinct_ to say it. _When did **that** happen? _Barry wasn't sure how to answer that.

Behind him, Iris held her laugh so well she was proud of herself. She was an inch away from teasing him because she knew exactly what he'd nearly said.

"Barry? You what?" Belén still waited to finish his sentence. She, on the other hand, had too much to think about to even suspect what just happened. All she was thinking about now was the fact Barry would have to suck it up for her mother's sake, or she would have the pleasure of telling her mother they wouldn't be able to make it to dinner. Either way was a lose for her.

Barry knew that _this_ precise moment was _not_ the one he wanted to say what he almost did. It needed to be better. He searched for Belén, and when she saw she reached to give him her hands. "We can make it work, I'll just need your help."

"What can I do?" Belén asked, ready to help if he truly wanted to go through with it. A part of her made her feel special that he was going to go through the trouble just for her.

~0~

Veronica Green was already waiting for her daughter and Barry when the two metahumans walked into the restaurant. Belén spotted her mother the moment the two entered the place and described to Barry how the place was set up. She was walking him with linked arms so he wouldn't fall or bump into anyone. Just to hide his eyes, he wore a pair of sunglasses he hoped would come out as casual.

"Okay, the table's set beside a glass window. It's sunset, and my Mom is sitting across," Belén explained with as much detail as she could. "She could be mad but that's just her face in general." Barry chuckled. "I'm serious."

"Relax," Barry rubbed his hand over hers. "I'm not messing it up, I promise."

"I'm actually not that worried over you," Belén admitted as she saw her mother already eyeing the menu with a bit of distaste. "My Mom's difficult, and...and she makes things difficult."

"I think you're more nervous than I am, Bells," Barry said, not needing to see to know that one. Belén's laughter carried with them until they reached their table.

"You're late," was the first thing Veronica said to them both.

"There was traffic," Belén excused themselves. "Are you going to get mad about that?" In the meanwhile, she discreetly moved Barry's hand for him to feel the chair that was meant to be his. With any luck, he wouldn't fall while sitting down.

Veronica knew that was a test to see how truly committed she was to making this dinner work. Before she said something badly, she pushed herself to change the direction. "Well, I do like the choice of restaurant," she mused as she looked around the quiet, calm place.

"Barry actually chose it," Belén gave him a little nudge.

"Yeah, no, um, Joe took Iris and us here for our graduations," he began to explain, really hoping he was looking in the right direction. Seeing as Belén hadn't yet moved him he thought he was doing good so far. "I thought it would be a good choice seeing as how you don't like loud areas."

Veronica's face was an indescribable one. Belén thought there was a twitch of gratitude or...offence? She couldn't understand why it would be the latter considering it was one of the things her mother always argued with them when they were younger - it was always too loud.

"Very right," Veronica finally said something. "It's one of my pet peeves. The only place I can ever get used to it is at work."

"Definitely," Belén said without thinking. Barry smiled but Veronica gave her a scolding look. "What?" Belén asked when she noticed her mother's look. "Is that not true? You just said it was."

"Bells," Barry hoped to find her hand on the table. Belén moved her hand and latched onto it like her life depended on it.

Veronica eyed the movement in silence.

"Ms. Greene, I heard you're officially transferring this Monday?" Barry asked afterwards, hoping to steer any negative attention from Belén at least for a moment. "Have you had a partner assigned?"

"Not yet," Veronica shook her head. "See, there's no one in need of one but Miss Spivot did mention she was only here temporarily so, with time, I will probably become Detective West's partner."

"Patty's only here for a while?" Belén repeated, both she and Barry taking the news with surprise.

"She didn't say anything to me," Barry shrugged. "Course I haven't exactly seen her lately, so..."

"I would imagine with your unexpected leaves and tardiness that could happen," Veronica surprised them even more with that remark.

It certainly took Barry a few seconds to process. "What?"

Veronica sighed, but Belén swore her mother didn't look sorry about anything. "I've only been at the station for 3 days and I already know who's really there for work."

"Mom," Belén frowned at that.

"I _am_ there for work," Barry calmly clarified. "I love my work, actually. I wouldn't be there if I didn't."

"Then why do so many people comment on these unexpected departures?" Veronica challenged. "Tardiness? Someone who cared about their job would be there on time."

Barry knew this was one of the things where he could argue the hell out of it and only get Veronica to hate him even more. He had to correct her, but he couldn't do it in a rude manner. And that _bugged_ him. "Ms. Green, I have worked all my life to be where I am now. Believe me when i say that there is nobody more passionate about their job than me."

"Is that so-"

"Yes. I do it for my mother, for my father. So that their story does not happen to someone else."

Veronica blinked, taken aback by Barry's sudden attitude change. Belén nervously looked from one another, her hand still in Barry's was giving another tight grip.

With a sigh, Barry started again but with that calmness he told himself he needed from the beginning. "I don't know if you know my story-"

" _Oh_ ," Veronica cut him off with a sharp look, and one that Belén was thankful Barry couldn't see, "I _know_."

"Then you know that I was practically left an orphan. I knew the truth and no one believed me because there was no evidence that I could show. So I decided that when I grew up I was going to be that person that _could_ give that evidence for other people. For my case, for another person's case." Barry now knew there was no way in hell he could ever be calm about this. It was something he felt for, and he would not let anyone belittle it.

Veronica seemed to accept this response but wasn't very happy about it either as she brought up her own story. "Same way my daughter was locked up, then?"

Belén shook her head. She could not believe her mother was bringing that up. "Mom-"

"Maritza was guilty and she accepted it," Barry ended up saying first. "There was evidence against her and she knew it. She turned herself in, Ms. Green. I did my job and I'm sorry for how she ended up but at least she came back to the good side. And you know what? Last time I heard, you don't even visit your daughter in jail. On what grounds do you have to be upset about her sentencing when you didn't even show up to her sentencing hearing?"

 _Too far, Barry_. He regretted the words he said but at the same time he felt like he had a point. Veronica never went to Maritza's sentencing hearing and yet now she was claiming to be upset over the situation? That was just plain fake.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" Veronica deeply scowled, looking indignant she was being spoken to as if she were a child.

"Mom!" Belén exclaimed. This was not going well and she dreaded how it would end.

"I knew this was a mistake," Veronica shook her head, bitterly laughing.

"I'm sorry," Barry apologized. He didn't have to see to know how upset they were making Belén. "I just don't understand what your problems with me are."

"You broke up with my daughter in such an awful way and you ask me that?"

"I will regret that forever, alright?" Barry practically swore. "I made the mistake and I paid for it, believe me."

"And I forgave you," Belén said to him, putting her other hand over their clasped ones. "That's done."

"But I shouldn't have done it," he insisted. "In that, Ms. Green, you are completely right to hate me. _I_ hate me for that. But I think we both know there's something else you don't like about me. We're trained enough to see clues."

Veronica pursed her lips together, deciding if they were really going to go out there then she should just admit it all. Besides, how much angrier could Belén get? "Fine, there is. It's _you,"_ she pointed at Barry, not that he saw it. "And your family. Do you know why I knew you before I even met you? Your family's story is known by every cop in this city. Every precinct knows it - anyone with internet knows it. Your father was accused of murdering your mother-"

"That wasn't true!" It was Belén who had snapped this time, and loudly too.

"It doesn't matter," Veronica said louder, eyes on Barry who would never know. "Your branded. For the rest of your life everyone will know, and if they don't then they eventually will. That is not what I want for my daughter."

Belén was staring at her mother incredulously. She had lost it - Belén was sure of that. "That is completely _unfair_."

"You're right, it is," Veronica acknowledged. "But it's the truth. Neither can understand what it's like until you have kids of your own. You want the absolute best for them."

"That's a lot of talk for someone who missed a good part of my life," snapped Belén.

"I know that, Belén," Veronica still agreed calmly. "I'm not the best mother and even now I know that your anger is just me breaking your heart again. But believe me when I say that when you become a mother, you're going to understand my desire to make sure you'll be okay in the future. You'll want them to be with someone who is good for them."

Barry had to swallow down another round of snaps in order to get his point across. "I...can understand that," he said slowly. It definitely made Veronica pause for a minute because she was expecting him to snap like Belén.

"No, you don't have to," Belén told him and glared at her mother. "She's being unreasonable and plain crazy. This dinner was just a mistake."

"No, I get it Bells. I do," Barry sighed. "When I moved in with Joe and Iris, Iris started to get teased because she was the friend to the kid whose dad murdered his mom. It's true. That part of me will always follow me."

"Then you see my dilemma with you," Veronica could admit it was surprising that he was agreeing with her.

"I can," Barry nodded, "But I can't accept that. I won't." He straightened up in his chair and leaned forwards. "Because the fact is, I intend to be with your daughter for a very long time, until she tells me we're done. And if I'm lucky, that won't ever happen. I'm hoping it never happens because I love your daughter-"

"-what?" Belén's voice had turned frail while her heart nearly stopped.

Inwardly, Barry wanted to smack himself. This was also _not_ the moment he would've liked to say that but it happened and now he had to move forwards. His hand found Belén's again and he hoped to God he was shifting the right way to at least seem like he was looking at her. "I love you, I do. And I'm so sorry it came out like this, at this moment, but it's out there and I want you to know that I really mean it."

Belén was beginning to smile so widely it was threatening to crack her face. "Don't be sorry. I feel the same way."

"Which is why Ms. Green-" Barry redirected his words to the absolutely stunned Veronica, "- _we_ have to make it work too. I'm not planning on leaving and I really hope that you aren't either because Belén deserves to have her mother around. Question is, do you want to?"

Veronica's familiar eyes flickered from him to Belén. She shook her head and planted her hands on the table to get up. "I think I need to go."

Being completely honest, her answer shocked Barry. He was assuming she would give in for the sake of Belén but apparently...Veronica wasn't the woman he thought she was.

Belén, on her part, was stunned but after a few seconds she came to accept that this was her mother. "Of course," she bit her lip to prevent a bitter laugh from coming through. "Because why would you accept the man that makes your daughter happy, right?" So the bitterness didn't come through but the sourness was all there.

"Belén," Veronica sighed. "If you were on my side of the situation, you'd see what I'm talking about-"

"-I don't think you can say that," Belén shook her head. "Because if it was _my_ daughter, I'd like to do anything to make sure she's happy. Guess when I do become a mother, I won't get my skills from _you_."

Veronica gave a downhearted stare at her daughter. "I'm sorry, Belén."

"Mhm, sure," Belén said dismissively, her gaze lowering to the table. She was grateful Barry couldn't see right now because it meant her shiny tears would be a secret. "Just leave like you always do."

Veronica sighed again but went on her way. _I did it again._

Barry didn't have to see to know how Belén was doing. "Bells," he shifted on his chair and tried to find her hand. He didn't have to do much searching because she latched onto his hand and cried quietly.

~ 0 ~

Nina Clarke walked down the street of CC Picture News with purpose. She hadn't gotten a call from STAR Labs for her assistance in a long, long time so she concluded this must have been important. As she made the turn, she spotted the STAR Labs van parked on the street across from CC Pictures.

"Caitlin? What am I doing here?" she stopped by the driver's seat to find the brunette woman along with Jay - someone she hadn't yet met - sitting inside.

Caitlin sheepishly smiled. "We need a favor."

"Mhm," Nina's eyes squinted a bit. "Last time one of you asked me for a favor I ended up babysitting the entire city just so that Belén and Barry could go on their first date. Please tell me I'm not playing babysitter to the city again?"

"I promise that's not the case this time," Caitlin offered a good smile, but then Jay chimed in.

"They're having dinner with Belén's mother."

"Caitlin!" Nina exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Caitlin sighed and looked between Nina and Jay, realizing they hadn't yet met each other. "Jay, this is our friend, Nina, and she's a metahuman."

"Hey," Nina reached an arm over the window to hit Caitlin on the arm. "I thought the first thing about being a metahuman is that we don't tell strangers that."

"He's not a stranger," Caitlin promised. "He's the Flash from another world. And he's helping us stop Zoom."

"'Trying' being the operative word," Jay finally made an input. He leaned forwards to shake hands with the woman.

Nina shook his hand and examined him. "You're actually another speedster?"

"Was, but...still technically, yeah…"

"That made no sense," Nina said, retracting her hand over the window. Her eyes flickered over to Caitlin. "What exactly do you want me for?"

"We're having problems with breachers-"

"Back up there, I'm a Doctor not a scientist. What's a breacher?"

"It's what we're calling people that cross over from my world to yours," Jay explained. "Zoom is sending them here to try and kill Barry."

"Okay," Nina nodded her head to indicate she was understanding.

"One of the breachers turns out to be Linda's doppleganger and we're afraid that because this doppleganger knows there's a possibility that our Linda exists...she may come here for Linda," Caitlin apologized soon after for making that sound a lot more confusing than how it actually was.

"K, I got the jist of the problem. The Tempest will be on standby," Nina gave a mock salute then moved on.

~ 0 ~

"Two more steps, I'll try not to let you trip," Belén teasingly warned Barry as they walked down the remainder of the stairs outside the restaurant.

"Because that's what I want to hear when I can't see," Barry said pretty straight forwards. They walked in silence for a few minutes to - Barry assumed - was Belén's car parked on the street. "Bells..."

"It's okay, Barry," she sighed. "You don't have to say anything. I'm just sorry you wasted your time and that I put you up to this. I know that my mother said some awful things to you and I am SO so sorry for that."

"That's not your fault," Barry placed a hand on her arm, forcing her to stop walking.

"I want you to know, to understand, that nothing of what she said is true for me. I don't...I would _never_ think any of that."

"I know you don't," a small laugh slipped through Barry's lips. He was amused that she had to clarify this for him. He moved his hand up to her shoulder and trailed his fingers till he felt her face. Now knowing more or less where she was, he rested his other hand on her face as well. "But I do understand where she's coming from. I've seen firsthand what it does to people around me."

"But that was when you were children. That's what kids do - they pick on each other. But now, as adults, no one would ever think that"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"I don't...I don't want to talk about it," Belén briefly looked to the side, willing herself to keep it together. "My mom made her choice and I have to accept that. I made my choice as well and that's you, completely _you_."

It was really involuntary when Barry smiled. It just came to him, along with the feelings inside him. "You sure that's what you want, though? Despite everything, Veronica's your mother."

"Yeah, but that didn't matter to her so why should it matter to me?" shrugged Belén. She leaned into his hands cradling her face, relishing in his touch. "Plus, how could I leave you when you said all those pretty words to me back at the restaurant?"

Barry smiled sheepishly and felt his face warm up. He cleared his throat. "You're not upset it came out in the wrong moment?"

"Wrong moment?" Belén repeated incredulously. "I think it came out when I most needed it."

Barry let her words sink in before blurting, "I love you, Belén."

Belén's smile widened at the words - at the _feeling_ he put into his words. "Say it again," she said suddenly. "Just...just say it again, please."

Barry wasn't one to displease her, and with a small laugh, he repeated his words. "I love you."

Belén hummed with her eyes closed. "It's like music to my ears."

"Well, you know, you haven't exactly said it back and I'm trying to be that guy that's okay with it, buuuut…"

Belén laughed and decided to get sly with him. "Mm, I think I'll just hang onto those words for now."

The quick fear in Barry's face was one that Belén just had to laugh at again. "You can't do that!" he frowned. "It's...against the rules!"

"What rules?" asked Belén in the middle of her laugh.

"The unofficial rules!"

Belén just laughed again. Using his hands on her face, Barry coordinated himself and kissed her. Albeit a little crooked, Belén readjusted themselves and kissed back. She knew it was his "persuasion" method and who was she to stop him? She would just let him kiss her, for no other reason of course, until he got tired.

"Very good points," she said breathlessly afterwards, her hands gripping his shoulders. "But I'm gonna need a bit more to decide."

" _Oh_ ," Barry would never get used to her directiveness sometimes. He blinked faster when the blurriness started to clear. The more he blinked the more of his surroundings he could see.

"Barry?" Belén had been watching in a mixture of amusement and concern.

But Barry could see her perfectly now and he was taking in her appearance like he should have done before. "Bells, you look amazing," he finally said after a good two minutes of staring.

Blushing, Belén laughed and looked down at her burgundy dress. "Thank you. Burgundy is my favorite color. And people always do say this is my color.

"Mm, I think that color should thank _you_ for wearing it," Barry found himself saying before he could think fully. Apparently, it was alright as Belén ended up laughing even more.

"Oh my, so apart from my singing-scientist, you also turned out to be very smooth," she playfully hit him on the chest.

"Yeah, not my best," he admitted after rethinking what he had said.

With a small giggle, Belén draped her arms over his shoulders. "It's okay. You're smooth...but not that smooth to get the words out of me."

"Oh really?"

Belén giggled and kissed him again. Barry lowered his arms to her waist and pulled her closer. Now that he was able to see her he felt another rush of...love? Was that it? He had no idea honestly but he did know that he wanted to kiss her for as long as he could.

Towards the end, as they slowed it down, Belén finished it with a series of small kisses that left her dazed as well. "I love you, Barry," the words tumbled out of her mouth in a soft tone.

There was inexplicable feeling that Barry had but he knew it was something beyond happiness. "It _is_ music to my ears," he remembered Belén's words and shared a small laugh with her.

~ 0 ~

Nina had been standing guard over the rooftop of a building parallel to CCPN and had watched Dr. Light tip over the STAR Labs van with Caitlin and Jay. After checking to see if the two were okay, she put on the cream-colored mask Caitlin had given her and flew into the building.

Dr. Light had gotten everyone out of the building except Iris, Linda and the editor Larkin. "I need to become you, Linda," the doppleganger held her hands on either side of her, glowing with waiting power.

"Not on my watch!" Nina flew in and blasted Dr. Light over to one of the glass offices, shattering the glass wall. "Out! Get out!" she then ordered to the other humans.

Iris didn't think twice and pulled Linda and Larkin towards the doors.

As Dr. Light was getting up from her major blow, Nina flew into the office and grabbed the woman by the coat's collars. "You've been causing problems, I hear."

"None of your concern!" Dr. Light pushed Nina away with some of her light.

Nina shut her eyes to shield them from the bright light but it didn't stop her from attacking back. She thrust a hand forwards and kept Dr. Light against a threshold. "You attack my friends, so that makes it my business!"

And to show she meant business truly, she thrust a hand to the side and pulled the helmet right off her. For a moment Nina was amazed how exactly E-2 Linda looked like their known Linda. But that didn't stop her from delivering the final blow that knocked Dr. Light out...like a light.

~0~

After being informed of what happened during their absence, Belén and Barry rushed back to STAR Labs. It was much easier now that Barry wasn't blind. Caitlin was in the middle of putting stitches on Jay's forehead in the cortex while the rest watched.

"Caitlin, are you guys okay?" Barry asked as soon as they made it in.

"Yeah," Caitlin smiled and briefly gestured to her okay appearance then got back to finishing the stitches.

"Barry, I'm sorry. Doctor Light's never attempted to kill before," Jay apologized profusely.

Nina stood with arms crossed and a put out face. "Yeah, there was no reasoning with a psychopath. I've got the bruises to prove it."

"Nina," Belén moved over to her. "Thank you for helping us. We know you're not exactly on board with the whole…"

Nina smiled and waved it off. "Dr. Light is safe in the pipeline. Whenever you need backup, you know I'll be there."

"With Zoom around we may have to take you up on that," Barry warned, but the woman simply nodded to reaffirm her words.

"I don't get it though," she spoke up again, "Why was this Earth 2 Linda trying to kill our Earth's Linda? Aren't dopplegangers meant to like each other or something?"

"Have you ever watched a movie?" Cisco raised an honest eyebrow at her. Nina just sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"She probably thought she could take our Linda's place here," Caitlin theorized, "And escape from Zoom."

"He's that bad?" Nina asked.

"Yes," answered every last one of them in the room.

"Then why did you think letting this woman, who was clearly so terrified of this 'Zoom' roam around was such a good idea?"

"Finally someone with the right brains," Harry made a gesture towards Nina. "It wasn't. It was stupid, and you know what else was stupid?" he turned to face Jay. "Thinking we could reason with her. She was under Zoom's influence and no doubt under the threat of being siphoned."

"He's got you there," Nina mumbled and promptly received a jab on the side from Belén. Well, she still thought the same.

"This whole thing is because of you," Harry continued, apparently more fueled up than earlier. "He-" he pointed at Barry who blinked at being put on the spot like that, "-doubts himself because of you, but believe me, Barry can do what you could not. Barry can stop Zoom."

Jay stood up from his seat to argue back. "I spent two years hunting Zoom-"

"WRONG!" Harry practically shouted. "Zoom hunted _you_! You spent the last two years of your life running, running, running from Zoom."

"Zoom would have killed me just like he will kill Barry if you lead him down this path!"

"No, because he is not like you," Harry stepped towards him. "Barry runs towards danger, not from it, because Barry's not a coward."

Jay couldn't hold himself back anymore and threw a hard punch at Harry. The latter fell over the back of the desk but didn't take a moment to check himself when he delivered a punch himself. They started to go back and forth without anyone's intervention. Belén looked at the others in concern but no one dared to do anything. In fact, she could even swear Barry had just given her a "let it be" look. As if it was best to get it out of the system already.

She politely, but very, disagreed.

"Stop it!" she shouted and made a gesture - or so she had intended to - at them only to throw bands of green that latched onto the men's hands, forcing them to stop. With wide eyes , she looked at her hand. "Sorry..."

"Seriously?" Harry peeled off the material forcing his hands together but it wasn't until Belén commanded it that he got free. He had yet to see her showcase any powers since he arrived so this was genuinely startling.

"You two-" she pointed at Harry and Jay, "-need to get it together. You are not five year olds. Hell, my nephew doesn't pull this sort of stuff."

"This is a bit more complicated than a four year old, Belén," Jay said.

"Okay," Barry cut in before they got into argument as well. "Dr. Light is in the pipeline and she didn't hurt anyone. The question now is what do we do?"

"We do what Dr. Wells said," Jay surprised them. "We use her to lure Zoom here, end this once and for all."

"You can't be serious," Cisco made a face at the awful plan. Even Nina was getting upset that her trouble of putting Light in the pipeline was about to be undone.

"More breachers are gonna come. Innocent people may die," Jay continued. "We got lucky once. I doubt it'll happen again. Zoom is a nightmare you can't wake up from."

"I've already had my worst nightmare," Barry said quietly. "His name was Reverse Flash, and I spent a long time being afraid of him. I'm not gonna be afraid anymore."

Jay nodded. "Okay, Barry. You may be faster than me, but you're not ready to fight Zoom by yourself."

"That's just it, Jay. I'm not gonna fight him by myself. I've got all of you to help me. I've got Dr. Wells-"

"No, I can't in good conscience help you when I know it'll only lead to you losing your speed, or even worse, your death," Jay shook his head.

"Is optimism an Earth-1 thing?" Belén whispered to the others behind.

"And you all need to ask yourself why Dr. Wells, for years, wouldn't admit that he was responsible for the Particle Accelerator exploding underground," Jay was on a rampage of words and there was no stopping him. "He may not be Harrison Wells from your Earth, but he has just as many secrets as the one you knew."

Caitlin was appalled to see he was actually leaving. "Jay, please don't go."

"I'm so sorry, Caitlin," Jay apologized and then left them.

"I am not here for all this drama," Nina declared with raised hands as she, too, walked out.

Everyone else sighed as they contemplated how they would get Jay to come back.

~0~

The next day, Cisco had gotten to work on a new way to get all the breeches closed in the city once and for all. It was rather quiet in STAR Labs since Jay hadn't appeared and Harry barely made a noise wherever he was.

"Cisco?" Belén poked her head inside the man's workroom.

"Bells, hey," Cisco looked up from his computer to see the woman coming in.

"Are you working already?" Belén walked up to his seat and looked at the computer filled with numerous charts and whatnot. "It's only ten in the morning."

"Yeah, well, someone's got to close those breeches," Cisco gave a shrug. "So did you come here to ask about breeches, or…?"

"You got me," Belén raised her hands and offered an apologetic smile. "With all this stuff about powers and fighting, I was just wondering what you were thinking of doing with yours?" Cisco got serious and turned to his computer to 'work' again. Belén looked down at him, expecting him to at least comment but he never said anything. "Cisco, I really don't mean to push but I think we should talk about this. You need to express these powers-"

"I would really rather not, actually," Cisco glanced up at her.

"Cisco, think about it," Belén began to pace back and forth, "You have these cool powers that let you see _visions_! I would kill for some powers like that."

"You want them? Have them."

Belén stopped to look at him sarcastically. "Very funny. You can do so many things with these powers and you're choosing to ignore them. We both know that can't last forever."

"Not forever persay, but...for a while...yeah," Cisco nodded his head.

"You have powers, and I really believe you should at least tap into them to see what you can do."

"You have powers?" they both heard Barry's voice from behind.

"Crap," flew out from Belén's mouth. She apologetically smiled at Cisco who was now mockingly glaring at her.

Barry was in shock as he reviewed Belén's words he'd overheard. "Cisco?" he stepped further inside.

"Bells, next time, we're going to not talk about secrets in the place where our friends are," Cisco pointed at her as he got up from his chair. "I mean, on a technical scale, I _do_ have powers, but…" he trailed off and Barry just stood there and waited for him to give an explanation.

Belén's eyes flickered from the two friends nervously. "Um, maybe I should explain…?"

Barry looked at her with a bit of a frown. "You knew about this?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "I mean, you can't be mad, remember? It wasn't my story to tell?" she knew those words rang a bell in his head.

"Fair enough," Barry sighed. "Cisco...what's going on? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, I was gonna tell you, I swear I was, but I didn't. I was just... I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Dr. Wells said the dark matter gave me this, this gift. He said that one day I'd thank him for it. What if I become like him?"

"Cisco," Belén turned to him, speaking softly as she had never heard that reasoning for his lack of usage of powers. "You can _never_ become like Dr. Wells. It's his mistake, actually. Because you could never use those powers for evil."

"Yeah...maybe you're right," Cisco acknowledged with a nod of his head. He then looked at Barry who was agreeing, so far, with Belén. "And dude, don't be mad at her. I asked her not to say."

"I get that," Barry recalled his own requests of who to keep his powers a secret from. "So…how do your abilities work…?" he asked curiously.

"They're actually really cool," Belén giddly said as she moved to him. "Tell him, Cisco."

Cisco playfully rolled his eyes. "Uh, I get these feelings sometimes, these vibes, visions of the breachers when they come to this Earth. I just... I'm not sure what triggers it. Sometimes it just happens. Sometimes it's when I'm touching something of theirs."

"Told you," Belén chuckled. "He gets visions!"

"Interesting," Barry truly remarked. "That can come in handy, actually. But you know we'll have to tell Caitlin and the others if you want to help."

"Yeah," Cisco nodded. "Oh boy, that should be fun."

"You can think about a way while we get breakfast," Barry motioned they would be leaving. "Cait's waiting."

Although Caitlin wasn't in the best of moods, she accompanied her friends for a good meal. Belén had stayed with her again at her apartment knowing Caitlin would need some support if they truly couldn't get Jay to come back.

"You never know-" Belén tried being optimistic for her, "-Jay could be back. He just needs to cool down."

"Yeah, I just... I was getting used to Jay being part of the team...and now he's...gone?" Caitlin knew it sounded ridiculous she was this upset over a man she just met. She was glad that her friends weren't poking fun at her.

"Well, look, Jay is a hero. They always seem to show up just when you need 'em," Barry tried his hand at comfort as well.

But before Caitlin could do anything, Cisco arrived and slammed a piece of paper down on the table. "Yo, peep that."

"What?" Caitlin made a face while Barry raised the paper to reveal a phone number.

"You got her number?" he mused.

"That's how it's done, young Padawan," Cisco musingly retorted.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to get lessons to ask some girls out?" Belén sarcastically then asked from Barry.

"Uh…" Barry didn't know how to respond but his hand instinctively put down the paper with the number.

"Because, I can go if you'd like to have more lessons with Cisco."

"I-I was trying to cheer him up…" Barry was barely coming up with his explanation but Belén was having too much fun to give up then.

"Hm, and your idea was to ask for phone numbers?" she arched an eyebrow. "Did you get someone else's, then?"

"You're not being funny again-"

Belén burst into a laugh. "I'm sorry, it's just hilarious seeing you get all nervous and flustered. It'll never get old."

Barry's face was flat with unamusement, but it didn't matter for Belén. "Oh, well, as long I entertain you…"

"Oh, you know I love you," Belén said, still giggling. As she leaned in to kiss him, they missed the looks of their friends.

"Hold up-" Cisco barely got to say when Belén took interest in the owner of the phone number.

"So who's this lady, Cisco? I have to approve first."

"Oh, oh, you have to approve now?" Cisco made a face. "When did we settle on that?"

"Well, I can't have you kissing another Lisa Snart. C'mon, tell us who she is," Belén made a gesture with her hand. With a roll of his eyes, Cisco indicated it was the young barista behind the counter.

"Hm," went both Caitlin and Belén after seeing the woman themselves.

"Definitely not evil," Belén nodded her head. "I can't wait to meet her, Cisco."

"You're gonna embarrass me, aren't you?" Cisco asked in plain horror.

"You owe us," it was Barry who responded which elicited a betrayed look from Cisco. Barry just smirked and wondered how, oh how, he could help Belén embarrass their friend when it came time to meet the girl.

~ 0 ~

 **Earth 2, Central City.**

A corpse of a woman with white hair pitch black eyes fell to the ground. A dark, scarlet red, heeled boot stepped over the corpse's stomach just to make sure the corpse was actually...a corpse. The sound of electricity crackled in the air from two different bodies: the corpse...and the new owner of said powers.

"Seriously?" Poison Ivy's irritated voice cut Datura's smile short.

The brunette metahuman turned sideways, allowing her primp curls to cascade over her side. "What? I needed to let the city's metahumans know I'm still here." She raised both her hands that now enjoyed the sparkle of electricity. "And Livewire was one of those metahumans who thought I was gone. Couldn't have that."

Poison Ivy spared Livewire's corpse a brief glance. The police would have a fun one with that when they discovered the corpse in the alley. "You're going to get caught by the police. You're not exactly sane all the time, remember?"

Just as she said that, Datura's eyes flashed with the same blackness of Livewire's eyes. "Makes me more interesting, doesn't it?" her voice overlapped with Livewire's, as if the latter was actually there and not dead.

Poison Ivy, however, did not seemed startled in the least. She seemed to be thinking of something else, it appeared, and her conclusion came fast. "You want to be caught by the cops, don't you?"

The blackness in Datura's eyes disappeared, leaving the metahuman blinking fast for a few seconds. "The hell are you talking about?" she asked in a harsh manner and moved to leave, but Poison Ivy grabbed her by the arm.

"You _want_ to be caught by the cops," Poison Ivy repeated her accusation. "Or you at least want to be in danger of getting caught. You trying to see someone there?"

Datura only briefly smirked. "Oh give it a rest, Ivy. I'm just doing what I do best: siphoning. Is it my fault the cops are actually getting a clue in what they're doing? Just means the game is gonna get more interesting now. And speaking of 'game', I'm up for a visit to our neighboring world," she nodded to the side as if Earth 1 was really right next to them.

"You can't," Poison Ivy warned. "You don't know anything about her yet-"

"-doesn't mean I can't kick her ass, though."

"True, _but_ it doesn't mean we have to be careless."

"I'm not being careless," Datura raised her gloved hands in defence. "If anything, I want to see what she can do. I want to see her fighting style. In conclusion, I want to see what the Azalea can do. It's the only way I'll know if she...works for my plan."

On that, Poison Ivy could not disagree. "It would be nice to know what we're dealing with. And, it could be smart to learn more about her firsthand."

Datura's red lips stretched into a smirk. "I knew you'd see it my way, Ivy. Whaddya say we head on over to Earth 1 for a visit? I bet Wells misses us too."

Poison Ivy laughed shortly. "You're so cynical. I love it."

"You did teach me," Datura patted her partner's arm before taking the lead out of the alley.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Aaah, I love this so much you have no idea! I think this story (season 2) is probably my favorite Bells/Barry story so far. I've written 3 full ones and I'm currently writing season 4 so we'll see if that changes anytime soon xD

 **Reviews:**

 **LadyRedStar** : I've never really seen other DC characters in action besides the ones on the CW, but Poison Ivy has always been one character that I've really loved. That being said, I think for now she's the only one you'll be seeing - unless I figure out a way to write in Harley Quinn in some future - in these stories. If anything, you'll probably see references/doppelgangers from other CW shows (like I just did above with Supergirl's Livewire!).

Yamile Soto: Thanks! Hope this chapter was good too! :)


	6. She Arrives & She Returns

"I've no idea why I'm here," Belén admitted to her sister once they were sat face to face (with a prison safety glass wall between them of course).

Maritza had long ago stopped making comments I've surprised whenever her sister visited her. Maritza decided, long time ago, that she basically got what she deserved. If the Belén wanted to come and visit her once in a while, then Maritza would take it. But since her imprisonment, Maritza could probably count the times her sister had actually visited her. Whenever Belén actually visited her, it usually pertain to something involving Axel's custody or something of legal terms. lately a lot of things were related back to their mother, and that was no surprise.

However this time, the look on her sister's face was a mixture of heartbreak and yet... there was something different about Belén now. There was a new light on her face and Maritza was curious to know what it was for.

"Whatever you want to tell me, I'm here," Maritza calmly said, even offering Belén an encouraging smile to speak what was on her mind.

Belén looked down for a second to think about what she was doing. there was, of course, plenty of people she could talk to about her mother period think there was Caitlin, Iris, and Nina... hell, there was even her therapist she could talk to. But, the Belén knew that something about talking to her sister over their mother would give her a sense of...understanding that no one else could give. Plus, they were sisters and for a very long time Belén stopped acting like she _had_ a sister.

"It's mom," she finally began. Her hand clutched the phone on her ear. "She had dinner with Barry and me last week."

"That's surprising," Maritza blinked.

"It's also the place she told us that she would basically not accept our relationship."

"Aaand...that's not so surprising," Maritza sighed. "I can't believe she would do that."

"And she doesn't even have a good reason not to accept us. Do you want to hear what it is?"

Maritza knew Belén would tell her despite her answer. It looked like Belén was in urgent need of talking about it.

"She thinks Barry's not the right fit for me because of his parents' murder case."

"What?" frowned Maritza who really didn't understand what one had to do with the other.

"She thinks that people will never stop looking at Barry as the 10 year old boy who's dad murdered his mother. And, by extension, those people will brandish me into the same view as Barry," Belén seethed with anger just at the memory of the stupid dinner. "I've heard a lot of things from Mom but this one is by far the most ridiculous." Maritza remained quiet for a couple seconds while she thought about it. "What?" Belén asked once she'd caught onto her sister's silence.

"I can kind of see where Mom would get that," Maritza admitted, and as soon as she did Belén went to hang up the phone to leave. "Belén, wait!" her exclaim stopped Belén just inches from hanging up. "I said I could see where she got it from, not that I agree with her."

Belén mildly relaxed, pulling the phone back with her. "I'm just so upset. I guess that's why I'm here."

Maritza smiled. "I'm the only one who can truly understand what our mother is like." Belén had to agree there. "I'm sorry she did that, Belén. But I think this time it'll be different. She'll come around."

Belén's loud scoff was a clear indication of her disbelief. "Sure. Why would this time be any different?"

"Because she's staying in the city and getting a job near you. I think this time Mom's serious about having a relationship with you and Axel."

"What a great way to start," Belén sourly remarked.

"Belén, you can't expect her to change in one day. It's going to take time." Maritza knew Belén was hating the fact she made sense.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Excuse all the horrible things she said?"

"Absolutely not. Wait for an apology. I really think Mom might surprise you this time," Maritza's confident smile did provide Belén with some hope that their mother would begin to change for the better.

"Maybe..." Belén gave in a few minutes later. She bit her lip nervously and spared her sister a few looks here and there. "Thanks...for...that..."

Maritza understood what Belén was trying to say. She wouldn't make a big deal out of it in fear of driving Belén away again. "Anytime, you know that. It's not like I have busy days, right?" Her attempt at being funny was met with a half smile from Belén.

"I never asked..." Belén began, already full of guilt, "...how's this place? Is it...is it decent?" Her eyes went over Maritza's chair to dim gray wall and the few security guards standing behind. In all her anger towards her sister, she never bothered to ask Maritza if the place was humanly decent. Did Maritza have access to everything a regular non-metahuman prisoner did?

Maritza was clearly not expecting that, judging by her stunned face. It meant conversation - moreover, it meant Belén _wanted_ to talk to her. "U-um...it's fine. I mean, it's prison but...we're treated okay. I'm one of the first metahumans placed in this new part of Iron Heights so we're sort of the guinea pigs. But it's been good."

Belén nodded. "That's good to know. You know that if anything ever gets...bad, in there, you can tell me right? Despite our problems I wouldn't want you to get hurt or anything."

"Thanks, Belén," Maritza smiled in gratitude. It seemed like there was something else on her mind that she wanted to say, but it appeared her reluctance got the better of her.

"What is it?" Belén asked, knowing all too well what those faces looked like.

"Um..." Maritza bit her lower lip just like Belén to show she was nervous. "It's...it's about Axel."

"Oh, he's fine. Like, he's doing really good," Belén quickly went to say but Maritza cut her off.

"It's not that, although I'm glad he's doing okay. I just...I wanted to ask if you could bring pictures of him? You know, like...pictures of him and his new preschool class? Stuff like that."

"Oh," Belén blinked rapidly. "Oh my God, of course! Of course I can do that. I'm sorry I didn't think of it before-"

"-no, no, it's okay. And thank you. I don't want him to come into this place, but...he's my son and I want to see him grow up even if its through pictures." Maritza spoke in resignation because she'd long ago decided she would never see her son in person again.

"I'll do my best to get you some soon," Belén promised. When she left the prison, she felt somewhat different when it came to her sister. There was still resentment and some anger towards Maritza, but it wasn't the same blinded rage she felt at the beginning. It left Belén feeling a little bit more at peace.

At least something was getting better.

~ 0 ~

Barry moved through the crowd of cops in the crime scene, careful to avoid a certain someone in the process. They'd gotten a call that morning about a suspicious-looking body (or thing, the caller may have said 'a thing') in an alley.

"Morning!" Patty Spivot's cheery greeting was enough to startle Barry into a momentary stop on the sidewalk. The petite detective was even smiling that chilly morning.

"Hey, Patty," Barry continued to walk, now alongside her.

"So, this is a fair warning, but this corpse is pretty gruesome," Patty crinkled her nose just thinking at what laid ahead.

"I've seen my good share of things," Barry reminded her just as they turned for the alley.

"Yeah, but..." Patty shivered and came to a stop a decent distance from the corpse.

Barry smiled slightly and went ahead to take a look at what was so awful. He set his things down on the ground then bent down beside the corpse. He raised the drape set over the corpse and came face to face with a shriveled, black - almost charred - corpse underneath.

"Told you," Patty said from her spot. "That is _not_ a regular homicide corpse."

"No it is not..." agreed Barry with a thought hum in the end. The way the corpse was not only shriveled but...it almost looked like if the insides had been _sucked_ up. "Oh damn." He mumbled after his realization.

"What do we got today?" Veronica's voice actually made Barry spring up to his feet as if he'd been caught in a bad moment. Veronica was making her way down the alley with Joe at her side.

"Definitely not something you want to see after eating breakfast," Patty answered casually and the smile she'd had on since Barry saw her disappeared once Veronica gave her a sharp look. Patty cleared her throat and tried to sound more professional for Veronica. "Barry and I were just thinking this can't possibly be a regular human-on-human homicide."

"Clearly," Veronica judged after catching a glimpse of the charred ankle peeking out from the drape. "It's those metahumans you have crawling in the city."

"Alright, so it's a metahuman we're looking after. But it wouldn't hurt to first identify this corpse and do some digging on them," Joe suggested since they had no other lead than the corpse.

"We should let the CSI get to it, then," Veronica barely made a look in Barry's way when she left.

"Why do you look like a kid who just got in trouble?" Patty tilted her head at Barry, noticing the way he was shifting and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Because he's overreacting," Joe answered before Barry could. The speedster dropped his arm to his side and momentarily glared at Joe. All Joe did in return was smirk, because if anything this was amusing.

"Did I miss something?" Patty looked between the two men, fairly confused.

"Not a lot," Joe actually chuckled as he too left.

"Sounds like I did," Patty laid her eyes on Barry who'd tried to seem more casual about things, though he was horribly failing. "Is there something I can help you with, Barry?"

"No, not really," Barry sighed.

"You sure?"

Barry sighed again and brought a hand to his forehead. "It's not the place to talk about it."

"You look like you want to, though..." Patty rocked on her feet and put her hands together in front of her. "And though this is a crime scene, it's also the only place where no one will be interesting in eavesdropping a CSI and detective near a charred corpse."

Barry couldn't help smile at the petite detective. "It's...I mean, it's...it's kind of awkward, to be honest. You know Veronica is Belén's mother, right?"

"Yeah," Patty nodded. "Can't really see the resemblance to be honest..."

Barry smiled for a few seconds before continuing. "She doesn't agree with our relationship so now it's..."

"Awkward as hell?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Patty said the first thing that popped into her head. "It can't be easy working with her right now, then..."

"She's not rude or anything," Barry said as a means of comfort for himself. Veronica hadn't been rude towards him while at work, but it was just the fact she disagreed with his relationship with Belén that made things bad. "She has her opinions about me and...I can't say that I really blame her for it, but..."

"You don't have to let her get into your relationship," Patty crossed her arms over her chest. "I had a boyfriend in high school that my parents absolutely hated. And they had no reason to, really. They just didn't like that he had piercings."

"So what did you do, then?"

"I was a teenager, I didn't care what my parents said," Patty shrugged. "But the point is that my parents were not the ones in the relationship, _I_ was. The situation here is much easier: you and Belén are adults now, and Veronica's got no say in who Belén dates."

"Thanks Patty," Barry drew in a breath then turned to the corpse. "You mind telling that to Veronica for me?"

"God no!" Patty blurted. "She kind of scares me, to be honest."

"Now you see what I'm up against," Barry bent down in front of the corpse again. "I'd rather take this corpse."

He and Patty shared a not so quiet laugh after that.

~ 0 ~

The entire STAR Labs team shuddered after getting the pictures from Barry.

"That _cannot_ be real," Belén was, frankly, disgusted with the M.E's pictures.

"But it is," Barry looled at the rest of the group and saw similar reactions. "Obviously, this is a meta's work but I've no idea what to go on. On the one hand, the body looks burnt...but on the other hand..."

"It looks unnaturally shriveled," Caitlin deduced with her medical experience backing her up. "The linings of the skin...it almost looks like the corpse has no insides anymore."

"It had its guts sucked out," Cisco said with widened eyes. "That's alien-movie worthy."

"You're not dealing with aliens, Ramon," Harry strode in and immediately looked at the screens holding the awful sights. "You are dealing with Datura's work now."

"This is _her_ work?" Belén's eyes widened in alarm. She once again look at the pictures as if it were the first time she was seeing them again. Now not only was she disgusted, she was also starting to get a little more scared of the famous Datura.

Harry got closer to the screens to examime the corpse. "Back on Earth 2, these corpses are found every time Datura is sighted in the city."

"What...does she do to them?" Barry, apart from angry, was just confused.

"I've no idea." And it was easy to tell that it killed Harry that he didn't know what Datura did to these corpses. "Datura is a siphoner, mwaning one of her powers could've done this."

"What kind of power would that be?" Belén started to think what could happen to her body if Datura got to her.

"A power that takes out all of your insides, obviously," Cisco's answer did not help her at all.

"It doesn't matter," Harry turned away from the screens to face the group. "Datura is as intelligent as she is formidable - she _wanted_ you to find that," he pointed back at the pictures.

"Let us know that she's here," Caitlin concluded in a quiet voice.

"Mission accomplished," Cisco straightened up on his chair. "Psycho is here. What do we do?"

"We gotta figure out who the corpse was," Harry replied and moved back to the desk. "She didn't pick at random. The corpses back at home were almost always metahumans whose powers were siphoned. She could be doing the same here."

"I'll pick at the record to see if we can get some DNA to match with," Barry offered with the intention of going back to the precinct at that moment.

"I think we need a profile of Datura," Belén's request stopped everyone for a moment. She was looking directly at Harry while making her case. "It's clear that we're going to be dealing with her games and the best way to counteract is having her record to know what we're dealing with."

"You mean like her background?" Harry was a bit reluctant on that side, but fortunately Belén was on another plan.

"Her M.O. The way she fights, what powers she has. All that stuff." Belén moved towards the screens, her eyes flickering from one angle of the corpse to the other. She gulped and kept her fear hidden well from behind. "I need it."

Harry's jaw tightened for a second, but feeling that rejecting Belén's request would put him in a bad situation - possibly suspicious - he gave a small nod and exited the cortex.

"The rest of you..." Belén's eyes flickered to Cisco first, "...try to find out what power she used to make that body look like _that_ -" she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "-because if we figure that out, I'll know which blow to specifically avoid. Caitlin, maybe you can make something to counteract said unidentified power? And Barry, for the love of God, please figure out who that corpse was and what power Datura stole from him." Barry, like the others, looked like he wanted to open his mouth to question her, so she beat them to it. "And yes, I'm taking command for the moment because we all know why Datura's here."

While that was _true_ , none of them wanted to agree out loud because it would mean Belén would start freaking out even more once reality hit her.

"Belén, why don't you come back to the precinct with me?" Barry's question was sudden, but he figured it was better to have Belén near someone in case Datura got smart. "You can help me investigate?"

"I see right through your little plan, Barry Allen," Belén narrowed her eyes on him. "And I'll have you know the only reason I'm saying 'yes' is because I really need to know who that metahuman was. Let's go." She nodded for the exit and took off first, only calling back to say, "Have Harry send Datura's profile to us when he gets it!"

"Please help," Barry told the remaining two before rushing to catch up with Belén.

~ 0 ~

Bright green vines crept through a doorknob until something within the knob clicked open. Heeled boots clicked down the apartment the intruders immediately deemed a mess.

"Pathetic that this is actually the home of Central City's best." Datura brought a gloved hand to the side of her head, feigning to be disgusted. Her dark eyes flickered to the living room that only had one couch so far and a bunch of boxes stacked around it.

"Give her a break, she hasn't had time to move in," Poison Ivy moved past her partner and gave the apartment a similar disgusted face as Datura. "What are we doing here again?"

"Well, by now I'm sure my little corpse victim is all the STAR Labs team can think of," Datura stopped by a portrait hanging on the wall already. It was of Belén and Barry at the city's park. Datura picked it up and grazed a gloved finger over the glass. "Poor Belén must be going crazy trying to figure out more things about me." She turned around with a smirk on her face. "It's only fair I learn more about her too." The portrait in her hand spontaneously combusted, but the flames didn't faze her. If anything, it made her smile widen.

~ 0 ~

Belén was ashamed to say she was bored waiting for Barry to come up with their corpse's identity. In her defense, there wasn't a lot she could do to help him. The kind of meant that it was grounds for her to be bored, right?

"I didn't know you were a nail biter," Barry's remark pulled her attention from the wall to the speedster sitting in front of a computer.

Belén only then realized she'd been hopelessly biting her index finger nail. She immediately dropped her hand to her side. "I don't do it often."

"Just when you're really nervous," Barry concluded with a small nod.

Belén only smiled out of bitter sarcasm. "Wouldn't you be if you had a psychotic siphoner after you?"

"Well, we don't know if she's psychotic. She's a murderer, but-"

"-she's still a murderer then. I just don't get what's so special about me that she had to cross a world to fight me," Belén crossed her arms. It was the only thing that ran through her mind ever since she learned she was being hunted. It just didn't make sense.

"If she's anything like Zoom, she's just looking to be the best," Barry then got to thinking. "Which, I guess...would mean she _is_ psychotic."

"Great, I win," Belén said with an almost pout on her face.

"It's okay to be scared," Barry spoke from an honest position. He knew firsthand what it was like having this mysterious enemy on your shoulders and knowing nothing about them.

"I don't want to be scared. I want to win." Belén wasn't sure if this attitude was better than being outright scared, but for now it felt better at least. "She's taunting us."

Barry's eyes shifted to the screen in front of him and agreed. "Yeah. Got that. And you know what else we got? The DNA match."

"You're lying!" Belén practically jumped off the desk she'd been sitting at and rushed to his desk.

"So our DNA matched up with someone named...Fallon Pipes." Barry skimmed the profile of the woman who turned out to be quite familiar with justice system.

" _How_ many crimes does she have under her list?" Belén blinked.

"Umm...not the point here. We need to figure out if this was a random hit-"

"-Datura never acts on a random note," Jay's voice startled the two metas. They looked away from the screen to see the man coming into the lab.

"Jay, what are you doing here?" Barry got up from his chair and started to wonder if the man had come alone. As far as they knew, Jay had chosen to leave the team.

"Don't start getting ideas," Jay warned once he'd concluded the metas' silence meant they were beginning to think about his intentions. "I'm still out but Datura is a dangerous criminal that you know nothing about."

"Which is why we asked Harry to give us a profile on her," Belén crossed her arms and gave Jay a long look. "Unless you have something to add..."

"I _fought_ Datura and I _lost_. You _cannot_ go up against her, Belén."

Belén dropped her hands in offence. Yes, he made sense but it wasn't like she was going to stand there and allow Datura to wreck havoc in her city. "Thank you for your kind words but it's not like we have a choice."

"If anything, you can give us tips on what not to do while we're fighting her," Barry added.

"It doesn't matter what you do," Jay purposely spoke slow as if he were speaking to two children, "If Datura gets even _one_ finger on you, she _can_ and she _will_ siphon your powers. One finger is all it takes."

"No matter how powerful she is, she has to have a weakness." Belén felt her phone buzz in her back pocket and when she pulled it out she saw it was from Caitlin. "And maybe we're going to find out what it is soon," she waved her phone at Jay. "Harry's got the profile and I'm going to go learn about her."

"Belén-"

"-you chose to leave, Jay," Belén cut him off. "You don't get to come back and tell us what to do if you're not going to play with the rest of us."

Jay seemed out of words. He pursed his lips together and looked between the metas for a full minute - in which Belén did not back down - then turned to leave.

"Jay," Barry went to follow but Belén grabbed onto his arm to stop him. "Belén, we can't-"

"-we're not going to chase after him when he's the one being unhelpful," she pulled Barry back towards the computer. "When he's ready to come back, then we can talk. Now this Fallon woman, what do we know about her?"

With a sigh, Barry took his seat again and continued going through Fallon's profile. As it turned out, Fallon was a wanted metahuman criminal who favored robberies.

"She was a metahuman with the power of sonic screams," Barry leaned back on his chair and side-glanced Belén.

"So we have a Black Canary on our hands," Belén let her head hang low. "Only this one's about to be a real bitch."

"You wanna go back to STAR Labs?" Barry started getting up. He thought they'd have more time before Harry compiled a profile for Datura, in which he would use the time to ease Belén's nerves.

"Not like we have much of a choice," Belén answered on her way towards the exit. Barry shut his computer down and went to catch up with her.

Downstairs, the CCPD was going on as usual with its cases. The Fallon Pipes case was about to be left for cold while STAR Labs would take it head-on. Detective Veronica Green was settling some things with the receptionist when she caught sight of her daughter coming downstairs with Barry. Straightaway, Veronica could tell Belén was upset. The two headed for the elevators and waited by them for one to open up.

"Detective?" Joe came up behind her and left some papers with the receptionist.

Veronica looked away from Belén to see Joe pretty much figuring out what she was doing. "Sue me if I still care about my daughter."

"I get it, but you're doing it all wrong," Joe said with no intention of filtering.

"Thanks." Veronica looked back at Belén in time to see the latter rambling on in distress - judging by the redness in Belén's face anyways - until Barry acted. He set his hands on her arms and seemed to talk her down enough for her to breathe again.

"I'm just saying it how it is," Joe raised his hands in defense.

Belén seemed to cling at Barry when he offered her a hug. It definitely seemed to calm her down.

On some level, Veronica wished she could offer that type of support for her daughter, but it seemed like every time she tried to do good she just screwed things over. She finally tore her gaze from Belén and returned to the somewhat conversation with Joe. "Thanks, West, but I'm well aware that I'm doing everything wrong."

Joe paused for a second to process her words then turned and walked into the bullpen after her. "Well, if you are, then why don't you try fixing things?"

"Because if I do that, I'll probably make things worse," Veronica said so matter-of-factly that it sounded like she'd given up already.

"So that's it?" Joe's question stopped her walking. "You transferred to a new city, bought a house and took custody of your grandson to never speak to Belén again? Seems like a waste to me." Veronica pursed her lips in what Joe swore was a movement to restrain herself from hurting him. "Think about it," Joe called and allowed the woman to keep going.

~ 0 ~

"She's, in conclusion, dangerous as they come," Cisco sarcastically said before Harry finished his long, _long_ lecture on Datura with her profile. "I think I'm going to save us 20 minutes, just saying."

Harry shot the man a glare before deciding to ignore would be the better option right now. He was doing what he could - what he _had_ to - and he wasn't going to further his pain with ridiculous sarcasm.

Fortunately for him, Belén seemed more grateful he'd taken the time to explain more about this meta. "Harry, please, go ahead."

Harry wasn't going to give Cisco the satisfaction of being right and taking 20 minutes to explain who Datura was. He'd cut it short and just give the important things. "Like the other metas, Datura surfaced some time after the Particle Accelerator. She started leaving corpses - like the one the CCPD found - around my city after making robberies or whatever she felt like that day."

"Sounds lovely," Cisco still gave a sarcastic remark that earned himself an elbow on the side from Caitlin.

"I don't know how she ever met Poison Ivy, but ever since Datura proclaimed herself as Datura she was already working as Poison Ivy's partner," Harry continued on, choosing to just forget Cisco for the rest of his life.

"Well, the two _are_ plant-based metas," Belén folded her arms over her chest. " _I'd_ like to find another meta to share tips with."

"Great, go find yourself another Poison Ivy then," Harry said dismissively before continuing. "There's not a lot known about Datura's backstory except that she used to work as a scientist somewhere in city."

"If she was working as a scientist and even on an experiment then that's probably how she garnered the ability to siphon," Caitlin's theory was agreed upon by the rest as soon as she said it.

"It's like me when I was in the lab," Barry nodded.

"Do we know anything about her family? Friends? Something we can use against her?" Belén asked with little faith but she just had to do herself the favor and ask.

Harry's jaw tightened for a minute before answering, "No. All anyone knows is that she made herself known by leaving her trademark corpses behind for the police to find. Eventually, she became part of Zoom's crew. She's the weapon he uses when he wants to keep the rest of the metahumans in place."

"Okay, so the powers...what the hell are those?" Belén asked.

"It's uncalcualted how many powers Datura actually has," Harry's honesty made Belén squeak a little.

"So...so she could have like a thousand?"

Even as Harry nodded, Barry shook his head in disagreement. "No. Everyone has a limit, even she does. We just gotta find it."

"We've been trying to do that but please-" Harry gestured at the small team, "-go right ahead."

"A little faith, Harry," Cisco nodded with squinted eyes.

Harry could almost laugh out of frustration. "You don't get it! You don't _defeat_ Datura by fighting. You want to defeat her? You kill her and end her siphoning reign for good."

Each member of the team had gone wide-eyed, stunned, at Harry's blatant idea. Of course they didn't know that he was getting more and more frustrated as each day passed and he still didn't have his daughter with him. They didn't know that Datura and Zoom were on him to get the team's trust and eventually hand both Belén and Barry to them. They didn't know that.

"I...would like to exhaust all other options first," Belén eventually spoke up. She cleared her throat and looked at the others for some help. "Maybe we can continue on that search for something to neutralize Datura's siphoning for a couple minutes? Even one minute would suffice."

"Datura has multiple - and I mean _multiple_ \- powers at her fingertips. _Literally_ ," Harry rubbed his temples. "I-I mean...she's siphoned powers from other famous metas like-"

"-Harry, just stop," Belén instructed rather calmly despite the situation. "Just...walk me through this last bit: why does Datura specifically want _me_? What makes me so special that she would need to cross a world?"

Harry considered how best to answer this without saying all of the truth. "There was a rumor going on...back in my world...that...Datura was slipping."

"Slipping?" Belén repeated, eyes flickering to the others to see what they were beginning to think.

"Just odd disappearances for weeks. And then there was a period where there were corpses of metahumans possessing similar plantlike abilities to Datura that were being left behind."

"Could it be that she was looking for something within those plant-like metahumans?" Caitlin asked the most logical thing.

Cisco snorted in his chair. "Or she could've just been in the ' _I'm the only plant metahuman in this city_ ' phase."

"Then she would've killed Poison Ivy," Barry said.

"Unless they were in on it together."

"Okay!" Belén exclaimed to get the group back on track. "Thanks, Harry. I think...I'm just going...to take some air. Just...process." She offered the group one smile before she turned herself around and walked out.

She would need a lot of time to process what was coming.

~ 0 ~

Barry found Belén in Cisco's workshop just as she was purposely putting her ringing phone underneath a pile of papers.

"You're not going to answer that?" he asked, wondering who she was trying to avoid.

"It's my Mom, and if I turn the phone off it'll just give her more fuel for when she inevitably comes to argue with me," Belén sighed. It didn't sound like she was fueled herself for another argument. Time was Belén always had something to bicker about with her mother. Barry suspected it was because Belén had finally opened herself up for an actual relationship with her mother...

It just made Barry feel worse about the mother-daughter relationship dwindling into nothing. The fact it was all his fault could be another factor of his feelings right now. Belén didn't see it that way, of course, but he did. Veronica probably did too.

"She keeps calling," Belén said after a moment of silence. She was staring at her ringing phone on the desk, hands in her back pockets as if she were restraining herself from picking up the phone.

"Maybe she wants to talk," Barry offered an alternative he was sure she hadn't considered.

She snorted. "My Mom doesn't talk. She gives orders. She gives her opinions and then expects us not to say anything back. That's how she would treat us when we were kids, you know. And I mean, I get it, if I'm 6 years old I probably won't have a good opinion but...I'm not 6 anymore. I'm an adult. You'd think she know that."

Barry walked up to her and hugged her from behind. "I think we just have to talk to her again."

Belén shook her head again. "There's no point! Trust me! I know my mother and there's no getting through to her."

Barry quietly thought that Belén was going through the same thing. Like her mother, Belén was refusing to sway from her opinion about her mother. If the two weren't so stubborn, they could sit together and talk things through.

"I need to go train," Belén said quietly. She'd come in for some peace but it was clear she wouldn't be getting it until at least one of her problems was resolved. "Wanna come with me?"

Normally, Barry would have agreed in a heartbeat...but he felt like there was something he needed to do first. "I can't right now, but I'll meet you later okay?"

Belén didn't have the energy to question him so she just nodded. "Okay." She received his kiss on her cheek with a smile then headed out of the room.

As soon as she was gone, Barry took off too.

~ 0 ~

"What the hell are we doing here?" Poison Ivy eyed CC Picture News with disgust. She brought her foot off the roof-edge she and Datura were overlooking from and turned away from the street.

"Waiting for the bait of course," Datura was patiently waiting with an eerie smile on her face.

"Why? It'd be easier to just go straight for the target!"

"Except, if I know Belén - which I do - she might let her team talk her out of fighting and I don't want that. I literally cannot have that," Datura leaned closer as she spotted a dark-haired woman coming down the street. "So I have to take something she'll want to keep safe but at the same time something that won't be a lot of trouble to acquire."

"You got a bait in mind, then?"

Datura smirked as she straightened her body up. "Oh yeah." She brought her two feet over the roof ledge and waited for the right moment. Two seconds passed when she finally acted. She drew in deep breath and exhaled it in the form of a loud sonic scream that caused just the chaos she was looking for.

~ 0 ~

Barry sprinted into the precinct as soon as the elevators opened up. He went through the bullpen searching for the one detective he needed, but of course - with his luck - he didn't find her there.

"Hey, where's Veronica?" he stopped Joe as soon as he'd spotted the latter coming out of Singh's office.

Joe looked particularly confused with the question. "Why?"

"Because I need to talk to her."

"Bare, isn't this the same woman who hates you? I mean, that's all you've been saying right?"

Barry rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, I know, I've been dramatic - I get it now. Now I want to make things right, for my sake and most importantly Belén's."

Barry seemed to say the right thing because Joe was suddenly smiling. "She was leaving papers in your lab. That Fallon Pipes case is cold as they come."

"For those who don't know who did it," Barry mumbled so that only Joe would hear. "Thanks." He made a quick go for his lab, hoping to catch Veronica in a solitary place to talk with ease.

This time, luck was on his side because Veronica was just setting papers on his desk when he came into the lab. As soon as she saw him, she cleared her throat and stepped away from the desk.

"I was just leaving things for you to look at."

"We need to talk, Ms. Green," Barry said directly. He would not waste time.

"What about?" Veronica pressed her blazer as if it was crumpled. She was nervous, that much Barry could already tell.

"You know exactly what and you know exactly why," Barry walked towards her and was prepared to block her way if she decided to make a getaway. "You hurt Belén and what's worse is you're letting her wallow in that pain. You know she was finally ready to have her mother back in her life and then you do her dirty-"

"-excuse you?" Veronica was quick to frown but this time Barry wasn't going to get nervous, he wasn't going to let her get the best of him again.

"She is your _daughter_ , and she needs you."

Veronica paused for a second. She eyed him as if she were deciding whether or not to believe his words. "She...does?"

"Yes!"

"Belén's never needed me. I made sure of that when I practically abandoned my her and my other kids after the divorce," Veronica's words were laced with guilt. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "She's only ever needed her father."

"But he's gone now. And trust me, Ms. Green, when I say that a child _always_ needs their mother." Barry knew exactly what he was talking about and Veronica knew it.

"...you needed her too?" she asked quietly.

"Always," Barry answered in the same tone. "I'm sorry that I'm the source of your disagreement with Belén, I am, but please don't let that drive you away from her again."

Veronica once again looked at him for a good minute - admittedly making Barry just a little nervous - until she decided to speak to make an admission she'd yet to say out loud. "It's not your fault, Barry. I am just incredibly talented at screwing things up with Belén."

Barry could honestly say he wasn't expecting that. "...what?" he blinked.

For the first time since Veronica met Barry, she smiled at him. It was a small smile, but Barry would take it. "Ever since I moved to this city, I've tried getting close to Belén but always end up making things worse. It's as if I don't know _how_ to be a mother anymore...and it serves me right for leaving them when they were still kids."

This, Barry could work with. It wasn't a Veronica who wanted to rule things and give orders. This was a Veronica who was just trying in her own way. It meant there was a solution somewhere. "Ms. Green, I do understand why you wouldn't want Belén to be with someone like me but...you gotta believe that I would _never_ let anyone hurt her because of me. I love her."

"Yeah..." Veronica could openly agree, even if it was in a whisper. "I love her too."

"So...can we _please_ find a way for us to be in each other's lives? Can you talk with Belén?" Barry almost put his hands together to plead, but now that he had Veronica's full attention he didn't want to risk it by looking childish.

Veronica drew in a deep breath, a breath that seemed to last forever for Barry, and ultimately nodded her head. "I'll try."

Barry beamed, but his happiness was short-lived when he got an alert from STAR Labs.

~ 0 ~

"Where is she!?" Barry demanded as soon as he got to STAR Labs. He turned to find Belén's Azalea suit missing from its stand. "What the hell happened!?"

Caitlin and Cisco were both rapidly working at the computers trying to locate Belén. Harry, on the other hand, was standing to the side looking tranquil as ever.

"Datura acted, that's what happened," Harry was the one to answer.

"There was an incident on a street with a sonic scream," Caitlin reported whilst conducting her locator search. "It had to be Datura."

"That scream took out three stores in one go, put down several people now in the ER, and she took one civlian," Cisco paused his work to meet Barry's eyes. The speedster dreaded what Cisco was going to say next. "Linda."

"Oh c'mon - not her again!" Barry knew their friend Linda was still trying to figure out the whole Dr. Light event; this would certainly not make it easy for her to forget things.

"I think it's kind of weird she targeted Linda," Caitlin admitted. None of the trio noticed Harry's stiffening on the side. "She didn't need the bait, and even if she did...why take Linda of all people?"

"You think she knows Linda is Dr. Light's doppelganger here?" asked Barry.

"Or maybe even that Linda is Belén's friend..." Caitlin hated to say because if that was true, it would mean Datura knew a lot more about Belén - just like Zoom knew more about Barry than they'd like.

"Okay, so where's Belén?"

"She turned off the GPS of her suit," Cisco replied. "But it can't stop us from doing a faical recognition of Linda. Wherever Linda is, chances are Belén will be too."

"And Datura, and Poison Ivy," Harry reminded them.

"Yeah, thanks for that reminder," Barry shook his head and zipped for his suit.

~0~

Linda had truly seen better days. But these last few days had _not_ been her best. There she was tied by the hands and ankles with rope while the entire park was deserted by the command of two metas. She was left to sit on a wooden bench.

"I don't get why you need me," Linda found the courage to speak. Poison Ivy was the one to stand in front of her at the moment. When she looked back at Linda, it appeared as if she were offended Linda was straight up speaking to her.

"You should consider yourself honored right now," the ginger meta said. "Your doppelganger failed to complete Zoom's task, but you will be able to help another of ours."

"What...honor..." Linda raised her binded wrists. "But you do know we have heroes who will come to help me."

Poison Ivy smiled into the view. "We're counting on it."

The first blow came from behind. Linda saw a decently-thick vine shoot from above and slam Poison Ivy face-first into the cemented ground. Linda actually winced when she heard the smack. When Linda opened her eyes again, she saw none other than the Azalea appearing in front of her.

"It's you-"

"You just need to get out of here," Belén put her hands over Linda's wrists to dissolve the ropes binding her.

"But you're alive!" Linda gawked in shock. "The article my friends and I wrote - we were _right_!"

"Yes, and now you need to leave-"

"-oh no, look around you. No one's leaving," Linda made Belén realize that while the immediate area was scarce of people, the was a crowd with flashing cellphone cameras watching them from a distance. "The Azalea is _alive_!"

"Not for long." An unfamiliar voice filled the air, making Belén's blood go cold once she realized that it hadn't been Poison Ivy who spoke. Because if it wasn't Poison Ivy...then it had to be...

"Scram, Linda Park," a dark-brunette commanded. Though her black mask covered everything but her lips and chin, Belén could practically see the evil radiating off Datura. "You played your part just right." Her voice dangerously darkened. "Now go!"

It was safe to say Linda was terrified. Belén pulled the reporter off the bench and ushered her away from the scene. Linda had no problem with that, but she definitely wasn't going to leave completely. Plus, she may have found someone familiar amongst the crowd.

Belén breathed in to calm her nerves on the inside. She turned completely to face the woman - _women_ since Poison Ivy had gotten up on her feet - and felt a chill go down her spine.

Datura was tall. Dark curls fell down to her chest. It was loose except for the one red datura sitting on the side of her head. Behind the mask Belén could see dark chocolate eyes and a vibrant red lipstick covering the woman's lips. Datura wore a black and red suit that honestly...looked like her personality. It was a long, black body suits with exposed sides and halter neck. A bright red, elastic waist corset covered her exposed sides and a black fishnet band over it. Her squared cutout sleeves went down to her wrists, tucked underneath black gloves. There was a red, circular chain belt draped around her hips. Red heeled boots were her choice of footwear, and when she walked they made the right menacing noise.

"You're her..." Belén said, unintentionally quiet.

A small smirk came to Datura's face. "All you need to do is quake in your shoes."

Belén detected a slight voice modulator in Datura's suit. Everything about the woman was a secret by the looks of it. It was a stark difference from her partner. Poison Ivy was a free as a bird. Her face - albeit slightly green - was out in plain sight for anyone to see.

"Are you just frozen or what?" Datura took a step forwards, and so Belén immediately took one back. Datura snickered and glanced at her partner with a triumphant smile. "She's at least decently smart." She then whipped her attention back to Belén, letting her curls bounce with the movement. "I was afraid you were a clear idiot."

 _My God she's smug_ , Belén came to the conclusion a second later.

"Well, here we are, then," Datura made a gesture as if this were to be a grand show. And since there were plenty civilians out in the area, it could almost be. She purposely raised her voice to address the crowd watching them. "It took a lot but I finally forced your little Azalea to slither out of her hiding spot. Because I may be from another world but even _I_ heard how your 'hero' cowardly hid for months."

"I did _not_ hide from anyone," snapped Belén. She, too, turned to the watching crowd if only to clarify the reasons for her absence in the city. "I was _hurt_ _._ My powers needed to be properly controlled before I could help anyone else. I did it thinking about the safety of others."

"Aww," Datura clapped her hands together, even feigning a pout, "That is _so_ sweet." She turned back to Belén, dropping her hands to her sides. "But you and I both know that you are a coward. You are the lesser one - the weak one."

Poison Ivy cleared her throat and threw Datura an odd look that Belén caught. It made Datura pause in her streak of insults indefinitely. Before she could gather new words, a breeze picked up and suddenly Belén was no longer alone. She too had her partner at her side.

Barry now faced Datura and Poison Ivy with no intention of backing down.

It did make Datura retract a step back to where her partner stood. It was almost strange, really.

"You shouldn't have gone off by yourself," Barry mumbled to Belén, not that she would care. He knew she did it on purpose - it was something he would do as well.

"I had to," Belén said matter-of-factly, eyes glued on Datura. "Because I needed to talk first."

Datura snorted loudly. " _Talk_? That's your move?" Her playfulness finished once she got started on her business. "You don't get it? You still want to be sweet and caring like I know your civilian self is? Honey that's not going to work with me."

Poison Ivy sensed her partner going off the fence. And it frankly startled her because it was taking so little...and yet she knew what sent Datura off.

Datura's eyes glimmered red as the same shade of red energy fired around her hands. " I am going to hunt you down like an animal!" She drew her arms back in preparation for a fire.

"Datura, wait-" Poison Ivy tried to shout but it was too late. Datura fired first and sent a wild streak of energy directly at the metas across them.

The targets jumped out of the way in time, but Barry saw the energy making way for some civilians and raced to get them to safety.

Datura, however, made no pause in her attacks. Even as Poison Ivy called out for her to stop, Datura raged in yellow-shimmering eyes. Electricity now crackled around her fingertips as she threw lightning bolts in Belén's way. Belén had to dodge multiple blows and if it weren't for her quick jumps with her vines she probably would've been ash by now.

Barry came back in a swirling circle until he too created his lightning bolt. Seeing what was coming her way, Datura raised her hands, forcing a chunk of the cement to rise with it and create the perfect barrier. Barry's lightning bolt shattered the cement to pieces, but Datura was otherwise left unharmed.

Until Belén made her own comeback.

The Azalea came with a vine striking down across Datura's face. Datura's body actually made turnover as she landed with a tumble on the ground. Belén then captured Datura's ankles with two more vines she would use to slide the woman's body like a ragdoll.

Seeing that, Poison Ivy had to act. She raised her own hand to intervene but Barry started running back and forth in front of her, forcing her to back away and fight him instead.

Datura growled almost like an animal would. "I'm not that easy to beat!" she shouted and threw a gooey orange at the vines around her then at Belén herself.

In just a second Belén started feeling the burning sensation on her neck. It was _acid_. She remembered that type of pain from her ex-boyfriend's kidnapping where he too possessed those powers. Belén screamed at the same time the vines she had on Datura sizzled into nothing.

"It's _hot_ isn't it?" Datura smiled maniacally with orange eyes. Her voice was now overlapped with another, making it sound like two people were speaking. "Courtesy of Acidton. He wasn't very clever with names but his powers were wonderous. Here: have another taste!"

Belén had somewhat lowered the burning on her skin and covered herself when Datura attacked again. Her vines were quick to go dissolve but she was just as fast to rebuild them.

Barry passed by with his own target but his pass did allow for a quick punch on the face, forcing Datura back on the ground. Poison Ivy became even more infuriated with him and threw a vine like a lasso to catch him.

Belén smirked and ran straight for Datura. If the woman was so keen on using powers then she would do the opposite. Oliver Queen's words of wisdom came back to her for a moment: never rely on your powers to get you through a fight. That seemed to be exactly what Datura was doing.

 _Because she's so smug_ , Belén thought.

Datura was just getting back on her feet when Belén arrived with a roundhouse kick where she felt a particular satisfaction hearing a bone in Datura's neck make a crack. Datura growled as soon as she could then raised her head.

"You're _dead_!" Datura unleashed the newest power she'd garnered on Earth 1. Her sonic scream proved to be deadly as Belén was thrown backwards. "Now that I know what you can do, I'll tell you right now you're the perfect candidate for what I need!"

"And what...would that be?" Belén started picking herself up.

"Dying!"

"But why _me_? Why cross to another world just to look for me?" It was the one question Belén wished she could have answered. Why her? Of all people, why did it have to be her the one who was going to be hunted?

Datura smirked for a moment when she knew the fear that creeping over Belén. _Good_. She wanted Belén to sink in it, to let it consume her. "Because fate wanted it like that. Now you can rise up all you want but the truth is it won't matter. I _will_ hunt you. I _will_ kill you, and while Zoom kills off your partner...I'll make sure to kill your friends."

"No you won't!" Belén exclaimed and gathered new energy to fight again.

"I promise you I will." Datura did the same and threw her sonic scream again, this time nonstop.

Belén crashed against a park bench and as much as tried getting up she just couldn't with the sonic waves forcing her down.

"Azalea!" Barry stopped fighting with Poison Ivy, allowing himself to be thrown into the park fountain at the same time.

But even Poison Ivy stopped once she realized the duration of Datura's sonic scream. She turned away from Barry, seeming to forget the speedster as he climbed out of the fountain. "Datura, stop!"

Datura's body shook as she forced herself to scream and scream.

"Datura!" Poison Ivy took a few quick steps towards her relentless partner. "I said STOP!"

But Datura ignored her. Her body hunched over as its air seemed to decrease by the second. The ferocity of her sonic scream was deadly, allowing no room for interference.

Belén had to cover her ears in hopes of keeping them from falling off. If Datura kept it up, she would die or at the very least go deaf. She raised her head as much as she could to face her attacker and was quite surprised to see blood dripping from Datura's nose. It didn't make a difference for Datura as she kept going, but it was a clear struggle that no one could deny.

"DATURA, STOP!" Poison Ivy was about to use a vine when...it stopped.

The sonic scream stopped out of nowhere. The only noise was the one Datura made as if she'd finally ran out of air and was about to choke. Poison Ivy ran towards her partner, catching Datura before she would fall on her knees.

"I told you not to!" Poison Ivy scolded her, but even when Datura tried to respond...she had no voice. "You idiot!" Poison Ivy reached for something in Datura's side pocket. It was a small silver device that...opened up a breach. It engulfed the two women and disappeared with them.

"You're kidding me..." Belén released a heavy sigh once she was able to stand without the fear of dying.

But she knew that even though they'd won it was far from being over.

"Hey," Barry finally joined her side again. His body ached but he was sure it was nothing compared to hers.

"I need Caitlin," even Belén admitted, hoping that the doctor herself was listening in on the comms. so that she would get things started.

"I know," Barry slipped an arm around her waist, about to take them away when he remembered something. "But hey, they know you're back. And I think that's something good."

Belén glanced over her shoulder and did see the crowd of civilians still watching them. They didn't look angry, if anything they looked concerned for her but...she smiled at them.

And everything seemed okay.

~ 0 ~

Veronica knocked on Belén's apartment door a couple times before someone opened up. Of course when Belén opened up, she hadn't been expecting her mother's surprise visit.

"Mom..."

"Oh my God what happened to you!?" Veronica panicked at the sight of the heavy gauze patches around Belén's neck. Datura's acid proved to be a menace.

"I-I'm fine, just work trouble..." Belén quickly turned away and made a way for the living room.

"What kind of work trouble causes _that_!?" Veronica went after her.

"Mom, it's fine. I promise. Is there something you needed?" Belén was not, to be honest, in the mood to argue with her mother. She was still a little sore from her fight the previous day, and the last thing she wanted was to emotionally exhaust herself too.

"I..." Veronica remembered her plan and she had to force herself not to ruin it with Belén's new injuries. "I came to talk."

"About what?"

"Myself...and you...starting with an apology."

Now that piqued Belén's interest. Her eyes widened for a moment, and though there was some doubt...she ultimately allowed Veronica to go on. "What are you apologizing for?"

"My behavior at our dinner. What I said about Barry was...out of place. I understand it was hard to hear-"

"-mom, what you said was just plain awful."

"I know, and I still worry about it being true and you getting harrassed or something-"

"-with all due respect, mom...if anyone were to tell me something about Barry's parents I would kindly punch them in the face." Belén's seriousness was a bit startling for Veronica, but she supposed it was only logical given Belén's feelings for Barry. "Cussing them out too is the only thing I'd think about. Do I do that first or afterwards?"

Instead of being scandalized, Veronica smiled. It made Belén wonder for a second. She hardly saw her mother smile.

"I guess you do love him," Veronica finally realized. "Once upon a time I nearly told your Nona Enger off too."

Hearing about her favorite grandmother always made Belén smile a little. In this case, she was surprised to hear her mother ever considering cussing someone out. "Really?"

"Your father's mother hated me when we were dating. The only reason I held my tongue was because of your father."

"Well...as much as I loved my Nona..." Belén crossed her arms, "...I wouldn't keep my feelings bottled in. If it concerns someone I love, I _will_ say something."

"And that's what you did with me," Veronica nodded. She drew in a deep breath that she exhaled a minute later. "In retrospect, I think you and Barry are much braver than your father and I ever were. Barry came to talk to me, almost begging me to talk with you again."

"Course he'd do that," Belén mumbled, biting her lip while she decided whether or not she'd smack Barry or kiss him for his endeavor.

"I owe you an apology, Belén. I can't come back to your life after so many years expecting things to be the same as when you were a kid. If you'd let me, I would still very much like to be in your life again," Veronica hoped that her honesty, and her daughter's heart, would be enough to give her another opportunity.

"Mom, I would love to have you around. I've told you that...but if this is going to work, you can't treat me like a child," Belén warned, though she smiled as she said it. "I'm not a kid. I'm an adult. If you remember that, we'll be golden."

Veronica actually laughed a true laugh. "Belén, please be serious!"

"I am!"

Veronica only stopped laughing when they heard a knocking on the door. "I guess I should go, then. But...are we good?"

Belén nodded her head. "Yeah, Mom." She walked up to her mother and gave her an honest hug. Veronica smiled and hugged her daughter back until the knocking started again.

Waiting on the other side was Barry and Iris, the two looking all smiley until they saw Veronica.

"Did we-" the two began looking quite guilty but Veronica raised a hand to stop them.

"I was just leaving." She moved around them and headed down the hallway.

"Are you guys okay?" Iris asked once she and Barry moved into the apartment.

"All good," Belén closed the door behind them. She walked directly up to Barry and kissed him.

" _Okay_ ," Iris made a face and went to the couch to put down her purse and the folder she'd been carrying.

"What was that for?" asked Barry once Belén pulled away. "Not that I'm complaining, though."

Belén smiled at him. "I know you talked to my Mom."

"Oh...listen, Bells, I was only trying to help-"

"-and you did, clearly. So thanks for that," Belén gave him another kiss then brought him to the living room. "And to what do I owe this visit?"

"Just checking up on you," Iris said, though something about her tone implied there was something else they were there for. "Everyone at CC Pictures thinks you've got the flu, but I have to admit we're gonna have to talk to Linda. Poor girl's still traumatized from the Dr. Light incident and now she has the story of being kidnapped by Datura."

"But don't worry," Barry eyed Iris, warning her not to give too much of that negativity. "We're going to figure it out. Right now you just gotta take it easy."

"I'm fine, guys. These acid marks-" Belén motioned to her neck, "-are healing. Caitlin says I'll only have to wear them for a few more days. Whatever properties were in Datura's acid were just a little stronger than what my body can heal."

"Well for now, there's no sightings of Datura or Poison Ivy so please just rest." Iris knew that would be impossible. Now that they'd met Datura, they were even more worried with her plans.

"She's crazy not stupid," Belén sighed. "She knows not to show up for a few days. She'll be back, though. She made that clear."

"Don't worry," Barry slipped an arm around her waist. "We'll be ready for her."

"We better be because she nearly kicked my ass on round 1. She's a lot stronger than what I thought," Belén admitted. "She only used a handful of powers on me and that was enough to bring me down. If she unleashes all the powers she's siphoned...God help us."

"She's not God," Barry reminded. He'd already been thinking of the situation, the fight they had, and everything they'd learned about Datura firsthand. "She switches her powers around. And that last bit with the sonic scream? She over exerted herself. She _has_ weaknesses. We just need to find them."

"And while you do that, I do come bearing some good news," Iris was happy to report. She picked up the folder she left on the couch and pulled out a few papers for Belén to see. "I wrote this last night."

Belén took the papers and looked at the front cover. An immediate smile came to her face when she saw a picture of the Azalea at her recent appearance. "How'd you...?"

"I was at the park guys," Iris ignored their stunned looks. "I wasn't going to miss out on the biggest scoop. I want the honor of writing about the Azalea's return. If you want...I'd like to have an interview with you so that you can clarify why you were gone. I think the people are curious."

"I'd love to do that!" Belén didn't think twice in saying.

"Bells, are you sure you want to do that right now, though?" Barry asked, concerned she'd over exert herself too.

"Barry, I'm fine! If anything, doing this would really raise my spirits," Belén pulled Iris to the couch and sat down with her. "We can do it right now! And you-" she looked at Barry, "-can bring me some Fettuccine Alfredo for lunch?"

"Are you serious?" Barry raised an eyebrow, partially amused with her sudden request.

"What? I'm Italian. I need my pasta!"

"I'll take one too," Iris raised a finger, offering Barry a cheeky smile knowing he'd have to go get it anyways.

"Fine!" the speedster huffed and sped off to find the dang pasta.

~ 0 ~

 **Earth 2: Central City.**

"Idiot." Poison Ivy would continue to repeat that word until she would get tired of it and come up with something new for Datura's actions.

Datura, however, seemed at ease with herself. She carelessly sat on a wooden table, looking pretty comfy in their greenhouse. "So I lost the sonic scream, big deal. I can get it off the Siren bitch any day I want."

"That's not the point," growled Poison Ivy. "You shouldn't have lost it! You shouldn't have fought like that with Belén! We were only there for measuring and we could've done it without so much chaos."

Datura's eyes flashed a wicked red. "Maybe I just realized that I hate her more than I thought," she spoke in an overlapped voice. "I despise her."

"That's not hatred. That's anger," Poison Ivy snapped. "Two different things for two different reasons and you know it."

Datura's eyes returned to normal, as did her voice. She looked away as if she were a child being chastised. "So what? I can hate and be angry at the same time. Besides, all this gave me a new idea."

Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Belén lives a perfect life with her friends, and Barry, and her family...let's ruin it," Datura hopped off the table with a fresh new smirk on her face. "Let's make her live the perfect dream and then break it with a nightmare."

Poison Ivy started smiling once she got more into the idea. "Alright...you got my attention. Where do we start?"

"Mercury Labs. They have the tech we need," Datura led the way out of the greenhouse again.

Poison Ivy quietly exhaled and followed her partner out. Well, if there was one thing she could say about Datura was that she did not give up easily.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well this chapter was a doozy to write! I cannot tell you how long I spent staring at this fight scene. I wasn't sure if it was good enough because...c'mon, it's the first meet between Belén and Datura. I hoped I nailed it! But if not then there's still more fights to come!


	7. At Odds

"Just let me go. Let me disappear," Dr. Light pleaded from her prison pod. She probably sounded like a broken record but it didn't matter to her. Ever since the team decided to try to reason with her, all she kept saying was to be freed so she could hide from Zoom. Unfortunately for her, they weren't having it.

"You would spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, never knowing when Zoom is coming," Barry meant to serve as a reminder but all Dr. Light did was shrug. "Okay, how were you supposed to contact him after you killed me?"

"I was supposed to get something... something I could only get if you were dead... and then throw it through the breach as proof," Light explained.

"And then what?"

"Then he'd come for me. Confirm the kill and bring me home," Light exasperatedly sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to find him."

"You really don't," Light said with widened, alarmed eyes.

"He's gonna keep coming for me. He's gonna keep kidnapping people like you, forcing them to do what he wants," Barry shook his head. "I have to stop him before more people die."

"You can't stop Zoom. Okay, everyone on my Earth knows that Zoom wants the Flash from another world," Light shook her head fiercely. "You're not getting away. He has plans."

"Among those is the Siphoner?" Belén walked into the pipeline, throwing Barry a look for his secret meeting with the metahuman.

"It's only a matter of time until she comes," Light warned quietly, her voice indicating she was as much afraid of Datura as she was of Zoom.

"Well too late," Belén crossed her arms, "She's already here." Her revelation seemed to freeze Light in her spot. Fear accumulated in her eyes, making the other two metas almost feel sorry for her.

"You _have_ to let me go!" Light pounded a fist against the pod. "If Datura is here it means Zoom knows I failed. She's going to siphon me or kill me!"

"Then help us take them down before they do any more harm," Barry still tried to reason with her, hoping that her fear would somehow help her see they were her only option now.

But Light refused. "Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work. Because if you somehow manage to escape Zoom's speed, you won't escape Datura's touch. A lot of us have tried and they're dead."

"We'll see," Barry meant it as a challenge.

~ 0 ~

"Zoom wants Doctor Light to send him your new emblem…" Caitlin repeated after hearing the story. It actually made sense in the villain's perspective, but since none of them were villains it just sounded plain crazy.

"Yes. We need it for bait," Barry glanced momentarily at his suit sitting on the display. "If we can get Doctor Light to take my emblem, throw it through the breach, then Zoom will come to collect my body, and we can trap him."

Cisco wasn't happy with that idea. "You know it took a lot of work to make that emblem, right?"

"Am I the only one who remembers that she tried to kill Linda just to escape Zoom?" Caitlin decided to input in case they truly had forgotten that crucial detail.

"Linda sure hasn't," Belén snorted.

"Look, I know we can get her to help us," Barry could almost promise it was the case. "She's rational, she'll see it's the only way."

"Before I left Earth-2, I worked on a serum to dampen Zoom's speed. All we would need is for Ramon to develop a weapon to deliver it," Harry shared.

"Oh, great, that could be this year's cold gun," Belén shot Cisco a warning look that he shouldn't even try it. "Maybe another criminal can get it, and then we'd have Sergeant Slow."

"I would never let that happen. Sergeant Slow is a terrible name," Cisco flatly responded with.

"Are we forgetting how much more powerful than Barry Zoom seems to be?" Caitlin looked at them incredulously. "I mean, if Barry can catch bullets, what's to say Zoom can't catch whatever you shoot at him?"

"Surprise... the element of surprise," Harry laid it out for them. "All we would do is rig a projectile to fire as Zoom crosses into the breach. He can't stop what he can't see coming."

"That's great," Barry was relieved to see that someone was at least following through with the idea.

"Thanks."

Caitlin shook her head. "Joe, voice of reason here?"

"We need a plan," Joe agreed on some level. "That's as good as any. As long as he can deliver."

"Don't underestimate me, Detective," Harry pointed and walked out of the cortex to get started on the task ahead.

Barry's phone went off and when he checked it he saw Patty's name on the ID. "Oh, Patty needs us back at the station," he told Joe.

Joe nodded. "I'll meet you there, all right?"

Barry agreed and took a head start with Belén.

~0~

"Hey," Iris stopped by Belén's desk at work. She put down a coffee for Belén and then took a seat at the edge of Belén's desk. "I didn't know you'd be coming in today."

"Yeah well, since my endeavors to get stronger, I've been neglecting my work," Belén reached for the cup of coffee. "I can't afford to get fired."

Linda came by rather nervously, and Belén knew once again what the reason was for her detour. "Hey. Have you had any word from The Flash about the meta-human that attacked us? Or the other one that got to me? Look at me, I have to keep count on who kidnaps me."

"Linda, I promise you that you'll be safe," Belén sighed. She knew it would take Linda a good amount of time before she could feel normal again, what with Dr. Light and Datura kidnapping her...

"Still...I'd just feel better if I could talk to, um...the Azalea? Or the Flash?"

"Linda, I don't think that's a good idea…"

"It's not that I don't believe you!" Linda exclaimed. "I just...I want answers, Belén. Why does that woman look like me? Knowing there's a metahuman with my face on who likes to nearly kill people makes it really hard for me to concentrate on field goals and doping scandals. And then I've got that new plant meta to think about? I don't want to sit around being told not to worry my pretty little head about it."

Belén acknowledged Linda's feelings and sighed. "I get that. Believe me, I do."

"Then tell the Azalea and Flash that I want to talk to them. I bet you can get the message across to the Flash. _Please_ ," Linda said, then added, "Iris says he'll listen to you no matter what because of that crush."

Had it not been because they were in public, Belén would have smacked Iris again for that. It definitely didn't help that Iris was smirking.

"I will...try my best," Belén forced herself to say in one go. Soon as Linda was gone though, she hit Iris on the arm. "I'm going to kill you for ever telling that to Linda."

"Sorry," Iris honestly apologized. "When I did that, I didn't know it was Barry. So really, this is your fault."

"Oh, yeah, my bad!" Belén playfully rolled her eyes.

~0~

After getting word of Dr. Light making a run for it, the group gathered at STAR Labs to figure out what exactly enabled her to do it.

"Doctor Light managed to hack into the lights of her cell. The whole building runs on fiber optics that operate on pulses of light, so she turned off the dampeners and used her powers," Cisco reviewed what he learned from the mechanics.

"And made herself invisible?" Belén glanced at the full costume Light had left behind for them. "That's possible?"

"Apparently," Cisco mumbled.

"I told you how dangerous she was," Harry was beyond mad with them. It wasn't like he had warned them about Light - oh wait, he _had_. "You should have listened to me and sedated her."

"I thought we would be able to convince her that helping us was the only way she'd free herself from Zoom," Barry argued.

"Well, you thought wrong!"

"Yeah. Okay, look, Doctor Light is gone, so instead of assigning blame, let's try to figure out what we're gonna do next," Joe cut in before they went any further.

"Do you think she's gonna try and take Linda again?" Belén worried over her friend who, at the moment, probably didn't know much.

"I had Iris bring Linda to the house, just in case, to keep an eye on her," Barry informed her to ease her concerns. "How are we doing with the speed-dampener?" he asked the others.

"I think we isolated the composite…" Caitlin began, still sounding unsure with this plan.

"And we're modifying the dart the Arrow used to take down Wells," Cisco added.

Harry was growing close to hitting something if they kept using that line. "He's not Wells. _I'm_ Wells!"

"Whatever, Harry," Cisco sarcastically retorted in a louder voice.

"Okay, but we don't even really know if this thing works?" Joe asked just to be sure he was hearing all this craziness.

"Until we try it, no. This will be a field test, so can we end this scintillating staff meeting and get back to work?" Harry motioned he would at least continue with work while everyone else continued to talk.

"Or how about I say what everybody's thinking?" Joe challenged. "Maybe it's a good thing that Doctor Light is gone. Maybe it's the universe stopping us from doing something really stupid."

Caitlin made an agreeing gesture, and honestly Belén was close to doing the same. They had learned the hard way they couldn't just come up with any old, fast plan against Zoom.

"No. No," Barry said loudly. "Keep going. I'm gonna figure out another way to get Zoom."

"A-are you sure?" Belén had to ask, stopping him before he could leave. "Couldn't we come up with something we could all agree with?"

"We don't have the time," Barry sounded rhetorical. Did no one understand they couldn't have the luxury to sit down like a group and discuss their options? Options that were already little to begin with?

When Barry actually left the room, Belén released a sigh. "We can't just go through without calculating. I'm not the cop, I shouldn't have to tell him this."

"I've got you," Joe promised and went after Barry.

~0~

Later that day, Belén stopped by her childhood home to pick up one of the last boxes she meant to take to her new apartment. As she walked in, she found her mother working at the living room, unbeknownst to Belén it was with the papers Veronica had taken from the precinct earlier in the day.

"Mom, hey," Belén greeted and shut the door.

"Hi," Veronica seemed entranced with whatever she was reading at the moment.

"Where's Axel?" Belén searched for her nephew in the quiet room.

"Oh, out in the garden. What did you need?"

"Just coming to make another trip," Belén left her bag at the side table and walked up behind the couch. "What's all that?" she pointed to the mess of papers on the coffee table.

"Information on some old metahuman cases."

Belén raised an eyebrow at her mother, now noticing there were several manila folders spread around the coffee table. "Why are you looking at old meta cases?"

"Because there's some things not adding up, that's why," Veronica said so matter-of-factly one could believe it was just a casual thing she was doing.

"What?" frowned Belén. "What do you mean?"

Veronica sighed as she raised her gaze from her work. "There are several metas that the cops never found but the Flash and the Azalea did yet there are no arrest papers anywhere. Am I to assume the precinct just let it go?"

"Well, what does it matter? The metas were caught-"

"-what matters is that they were not brought to justice in the correct way," Veronica closed the file on her lap. "Does the CCPD let these super heroes take justice into their own hands? _We_ are the cops. These metahumans should be in Iron Heights. And do you know the most significant thing I've discovered in all these cases?"

"Humor me," sighed Belén, figuring she wouldn't win this argument.

"Every single case has been handled by Joe West, with your boyfriend's signature right along the papers."

"Well...I would deem that normal since Barry is the only CSI at that precinct," Belén tried to be casual, and perhaps a tad sarcastic just to make it sound like she wasn't nervous. "I'd be surprised if he hadn't signed anything."

"These cases all have odd details, Belén. If it's not the fact there's no arrests, it's the fact that Joe's overseeing is everywhere on these cases. Does he only do meta cases that involve the Flash and the Azalea?"

"What?" Belén nervously laughed. "I don't know how case selection works. _Do_ you choose your own case or-"

Veronica raised a hand to stop Belén from going further. "I'm beginning to think there's some secrets at this precinct. I'll have to keep digging."

"But Mom-"

Veronica got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. "Are you staying for dinner? I'll get Axel and we cant try this new recipe I found online..."

Belén didn't listen to her mother in the end. She just kept wondering how complicated this would all get if her mother didn't stay away from meta cases. It could land Veronica into dangerous trouble with the newest metas in the city...as well as causing more conflicts between her and Barry and the Wests.

~0~

When Barry returned home the last thing he was expecting was to have the entire house smelling of a mixture of meals. He spotted Iris standing by the dining room that was filled with said mixture of meals.

"Are you guys having a dinner party?" for a moment he thought maybe he'd missed one of Iris' planned sleepovers.

"You would think," Iris crossed her arms and waited for Linda to return from the kitchen. Seconds later, Linda came by holding yet another pot of food.

"I know, I know. It's just, sometimes cooking helps me to relax," she profusely apologized to them both. She knew she was running them dangerously close to nothing in the pantries. "Have you heard anything about Doctor Light? Or that Datura? Am I still in danger?"

"We're not really sure…" Barry felt bad lying to her but they couldn't tell her much.

"Come on. I'm going crazy here, Barry."

"Yeah, she is," Iris nodded to the table full of meals.

Linda gasped when the oven timer went off. "That's the cake! Hope you're hungry."

"She's not kidding," Iris leaned off the table and started making way for the couch. "There's enough food in there to feed an army."

"She must be terrified," Barry misread the situation.

"Uh, more like furious. Someone nearly died because of this metahuman who so happens to look like her. And then she was used as bait in front of the entire city? I mean, trust me. If Linda had Doctor Light's powers right now…"

Barry suddenly raised his head with an incoming idea.

"What?" Iris recognized that as his thinking face.

"I just, uh, Linda and Light...they're identical. So identical that Light even thought she could fool Zoom. Now we have Light's suit." Barry stopped when Iris said nothing. "You don't even have to say anything, I know. It's a terrible idea."

"Well…" Iris tilted her head. "No, not really. We make Zoom think that Linda is Doctor Light and use her to draw him out."

"It's too dangerous, right?"

Iris would have said yes, but this was something neither could decide. "Let Linda decide. I mean, she's desperate to catch the person with her face who's terrorizing people, and she deserves the chance to help us."

"Okay," Barry smiled and started to tell her how it would work for Linda to help them.

~ 0 ~

Deciding to show up to Linda as the Flash, Linda was given the chance to try and help them set a trap for Zoom. Linda didn't think twice before agreeing to help. The idea was for her to pretend to be Dr. Light and have a fake fight with Barry where she would 'win' and hand over his suit's emblem as proof of his defeat.

"Where are they?" Belén walked into the training room where Linda would shortly be out to practice. She wasn't happy and that was evident as soon as someone saw her face. "I cannot believe - oh hell no." She had stopped beside a couple of cardboard cut outs near Cisco who was on top of a small scaffold. "Cisco, why is there a cut out of _me_?"

Cisco looked over the rail and grinned. "They're practice targets. Don't worry though, yours aren't the target."

"I was a bit more creeped out on the part where my friend keeps cardboard cut outs of me," Belén crossed her arms.

"It's important to have hobbies," Cisco turned over another cut out he was in the process of hanging. It turned out to be himself holding a camera while striking an odd pose of him sticking his tongue out.

Belén blinked emotionlessly for a second. "I fear for your future wife," she shared and walked away.

She spotted Barry with Iris from a distance, the former donning his red suit, and so Belén made a direct beeline for them. "What is going on here!?" she asked them soon as they could hear. "Linda is doing what now!?"

"It's okay-" Iris began when Belén cut her off with a sarcastic 'really'.

"Having our friend who has no powers put herself on the line is not okay in my book!" Belén then glanced at Barry. "And was it really smart of you to show up like that?" she gestured to his appearance. "You outed yourself...ish."

"We don't have time to think of something else," he shrugged. "Besides, it can work, Bells."

"That's my friend," Belén said quietly. "I have known her for years. I can't even think about it if something happened to her because she got caught up in this."

"Hey," Barry took her into a hug, "I won't let that happen. I promise." Belén relaxed a bit but she still wasn't entirely on board with this idea. She felt like Barry was rushing into this without all the connections being made.

"This is ridiculous," they heard Linda coming in. Caitlin walked beside her in the costume that gave her the image of Dr. Light.

"Linda," Belén pulled away from Barry, blinking as she studied the new appearance of their friend.

"Belén, hey," Linda was relieved to see she'd been contacted. While she was comfortable with Iris, she had known Belén far longer and truly trusted her.

"You look...just like Doctor Light," Belén looked Linda over.

"I feel ridiculous," Linda admitted and hugged herself.

"You're fine," Caitlin assured and held out a pair of black gloves. Linda took them rather confused and looked at them for some explanation. "And with these gloves that Cisco rigged up, you'll be able to do what Light does."

"Oh...great," Linda said nervously as she began to put the gloves on.

"I'm gonna go make sure everything's been set up," Caitlin said and headed for the elevated platform where they would be monitoring Linda's practice session. Iris followed behind her, and soon enough went Barry as well.

"Linda, I'm sorry," Belén felt the need to apologize to her friend. However, Linda didn't understand only took a double-take at her in response. "I didn't know that...Flash, was going to pull this. Rest assured I would not have let him."

"What? No!" Linda exclaimed. "I'm glad Iris took me to him. Though I'm a bit surprised that Iris knows him too?" Belén's eyes widened for a moment but Linda, thankfully, went ahead and made her own assumption. "I guess that comes as a perk when you're the daughter's cop, hm?"

"Yes!" Belén didn't think twice in confirming. "Exactly."

Linda smiled and started walking with her towards the platform. She fixed the gloves on her hands and thought to ask whether or not these were pretty safe.

"They should be," Belén glanced at Cisco on the platform. "Right?"

"Totally," Cisco said without thinking.

"Ish," Harry said instead, freezing both women below.

"What?" Belén raised both her eyebrows.

"Well, come on, it's gotta be believable," Cisco tried to reason with them, "so they really do fire and explode things."

"Hm…"

"And you-" Cisco then pointed at Barry, "-are going to have to let her hit you with those blasts when she gets the hang of it."

"Please don't kill him," Belén then mumbled to Linda.

"Okay, the suit can absorb the blasts," Cisco said for her comfort, and probably Barry who wasn't looking so excited either.

"For real or 'ish'?" Belén crossed her arms. "Because let me tell you the difference between those two."

"Okay, you know what? I like to think I can see the bright side of things, okay?" Cisco got snappish with her as well. "Positivity, people," he clapped his hands and went back to work.

Barry gestured to Linda to follow him down the room where Cisco and Joe had set up several cardboard cut outs of themselves. "So just hit the ones of me. Okay?"

Linda nodded. "Got it. Great." She took several steps towards the cutouts, mumbling to herself to get prepared. "Doctor Light…" she took a deep breath and thrust a hand forwards to shoot. Soon as she did, however, she felt the gloves sort of take control and shot relentlessly. "Oh! Oh!" she stumbled back on her feet while the gloves continued shooting. Barry caught her from behind and thankfully put an end to the glove fiasco.

"Uh, you know what? I'm just gonna adjust those a little!" Cisco snatched a nearby screwdriver from the platform and rushed towards Linda who more than terrified now.

"Just...okay, so, um, do the opposite of that, and we'll have it," Barry gave a light pat on Linda's arm, figuring she was probably a little discouraged now.

Later, when Cisco promised that the gloves would not malfunction, they gave it another try. Linda led the way slowly searching for the right cut outs to shoot at. She nearly shot a couple of the 'civilians' but she did manage to shoot some of the right ones.

"Yes!" Linda cheered excitedly after shooting the first right cut out of the Flash. "I did it!" she turned back to her friends. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah!" Barry was equally happy to see her beginning to get the hang of it. The two went to do a high-five but Linda's glove accidentally went off and fired straight at the platform. Poor Cisco was blasted backwards to the floor.

"Oh my God!" Linda gasped. Cisco rolled to his side then sat right up, looking pretty annoyed. "Sorry?"

"She's gonna kill you," Belén quietly said to Barry, meaning all kindness for her friend. "And when she does... _I'm_ going to kill you."

"C'mon…" Barry tried to be optimistic, but everyone else seemed to agree with Belén's perspectives.

After dispatching Linda with Iris, the group met back in the cortex to discuss the day.

"Okay, no offense to Linda, but there is no way she can pull this off," Caitlin honestly didn't mean to sound rude.

"Well, maybe if she didn't scream every time she fired," Cisco shook his head.

"Okay, Linda had a rocky start, but she can pull this off," Barry continued firm, apparently, despite everyone going against it. "I know she can. All right, did you find someplace near breach where we don't have to worry about civilians getting in the way?"

Against his better judgement, Cisco answered him. "Yeah, there's a place by the docks that's usually deserted at night."

"Awesome. Cait, how are we doing with the speed-dampener?"

"My tests indicate that it should work," Caitlin answered rather doubtfully as well.

"It _will_ work," Harry was the only one who seemed to share Barry's persistence in the plan. "I'll tune up Ramon's gloves, make sure they work better."

"Okay great," Barry nodded as the other man started to leave.

"Wait, so we're actually going through with this?" Belén's eyes flickered from one person to the next.

"Yeah, we're doing this," Barry said, confused.

"Uuum…" Belén trailed off waiting to see if he would make the connection but apparently she hadn't been too clear. "We _can't_! Linda is _not_ ready for this - hell, I don't even think _we're_ ready for whatever plan you have in that big head of yours!"

"Bells, we don't have the time-"

"We _need_ to have the time," Belén snapped. "I went up against Datura on a whim and I got my ass handed to me! Now my friend is going to be out there, risking her life to help us. The least you can do is be truly calculating and have a right plan."

Barry was giving her an incredulous stare for her sudden outburst. He couldn't believe she actually was doing that. Yes, she did make some sense but he made sense too. They didn't have the luxury of time. "We _have_ this-"

"No, we don't," Belén shook her head frantically. "And I'm a little worried, honestly, that you're so hellbent on getting Zoom against everything. I...I can't go through with it." She decided that upon seeing that Barry wasn't exactly going to back down anytime soon. Waving her hands, she signaled she was sticking to her decision and leaving the place.

One would think that would be enough to put Barry straight, but he proved to be severely persistent. Now Joe thought enough was enough, and decided to add onto Belén's thoughts. However he would do it privately.

"I can't believe we're still on this, Barry," Joe gave a deep sigh and crossed his arms once Caitlin and Cisco had left them the cortex.

"Belén will get over it, but this is our only chance to get Zoom," Barry said truthfully. He thought that perhaps Belén was a bit too close to Linda and that's why she wasn't seeing what he was: the perfect chance to get Zoom.

"You saw what happened in there. Linda's not ready," Joe hoped to open his eyes.

"She _is_ ," Barry argued. "She's ready enough."

"Why are you pushing this!?"

Barry couldn't believe he was actually going to have this conversation. "What... why do you think? I want to get him!"

"Get who, exactly?"

"Is that a real question?"

"You tell me. I'm... I'm not sure this is even about Zoom, honestly," Joe admitted. "I'm starting to feel like you're still chasing the Reverse Flash."

"Reverse Flash is dead," Barry flatly said, finding no relevance in this.

"Yeah, but after all he did to you, you weren't the one that stopped him."

"We all worked together-"

"Yeah, and Eddie got him in the end," Joe reminded. "I mean, did that make you feel cheated, like you didn't get your revenge, and stopping Zoom is the next best thing?" Barry remained silent and for a moment couldn't look Joe in the eyes. "Belén is right. If you're gonna ask people like Linda to risk their lives, you better be sure of exactly why they're doing it. Otherwise, call it off."

With those words, he left Barry to think.

~ 0 ~

Belén thought nothing would help her distract herself than by working. So, she had thought to continue with her unpacking . And she did that...until she felt her arms would fall off for trying to put together a side table. Thanking the heavens that she had brought along one of her couches already, she plopped down and grabbed her laptop to hopefully continue an article she was meant to turn in by the end of the week. Trying to write proved difficult after spending a good thirty minutes coming up with about three sentences. Her attention, however, was drawn to the jiggling of her door's knob.

Thinking it was perhaps a burglar, Belén stopped her writing and began preparing for a fight.

"Auntie Belén!" Axel, instead, came running in after Veronica opened the door.

For a moment, Belén just stared at her incoming mother, ignoring Axel clutching her waist.

"Hey there, sweetie," Veronica closed the door like nothing and walked in.

"H-how did you get in?" Belén gave a pat to Axel's back. Seeing he was acknowledged, the boy rushed to his grandmother to retrieve his tablet so he could watch his shows.

"Oh, yes, well, Mark stopped by to give me his set," Veronica held up a different key in her hand. "I thought I'd bring it back for you."

"Okay…" Belén still wasn't very comfortable with her mother's presence.

"What's wrong?" Veronica noticed her daughter's odd behavior, despite their earlier disagreement she was pretty sure it wasn't related to her this time.

"Nothing…" Belén answered slowly and took the key from Veronica's hand. "Did...did you need anything?" she took a seat on the couch and grabbed her laptop again.

"I thought we should talk...about earlier…" Veronica took a seat across her daughter, setting her purse beside. Axel silently sat across on the same couch, delving into his tablet.

"Oh, you mean where you went ballistic on me?" Belén stared hard at her screen. "Yeah, no, I totally forgot about that."

Veronica may have thought it was sarcasm but in truth Belén had forgotten about it due to Barry and the Dr. Light situation. "Well I haven't, and I really don't want this to cause another problem between us."

"Well it's a little difficult when you're investigating my boyfriend's adoptive father."

"Not going to argue there," Veronica admitted. "But...Belén I'm a cop. I can't let things go where I don't see logic."

"Mom," Belén sighed. She pursed her lips together, struggling to keep it together all of a sudden. "I accept your apology, I do...but can we not do this right now? I just...I had a _day_...and I don't want to do anything tonight."

"Belén, what's wrong?" Veronica asked again, this time hoping she would get an answer.

Belén closed her laptop once she realized she would not be writing that night. "Barry and I may have had a disagreement."

"About…?"

"Stuff," Belén left it at that.

"Well that 'stuff' seems to be making your eyes, uh…" Veronica gestured to her own, "...kind of reddish…"

"It's normal stuff," Belén shrugged. "I don't like arguing with him but I had to say something."

"Good for you," Veronica said instantly, showing right approval. "Never swallow down your words for a man, sweetie."

There, Belén found amusement. "Yeah," she gave a slight nod of her head. "Well, I spoke my big mouth...and now I'm here."

Veronica took a moment to look at her daughter, and try to feel the pain Belén felt. With a sigh, she got up from her couch and moved to sit with Belén. "I told you my thoughts and on that man-"

"Yeah, believe me, we both got the idea," Belén sniffled a bit.

"But, if there was one thing that was left clear to me, was that this was something mutual. It's not everyday that a mother is shouted at that her daughter is loved by someone-"

Belén chuckled. "Yeah, believe it or not...he's sort of done that before with our old neighbor Mrs. Andrews."

"Really?" Veronica laughed for a moment. "Maybe you two share big mouths after all."

"Mom," Belén playfully rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I can't seem to understand what you would argue about so suddenly," Veronica admitted. "You don't want to explain?"

It was then that Belén gave her mother a look that Veronica had never seen before. It entailed a mixture of guilt and concern to such a level that for a moment Veronica wondered what this argument was _really_ about.

"It's private," Belén finally said, looking away from her mother.

"Really?" Veronica began to show her doubt and suspicions.

"Yes, um, it's just things between us, you know? Sometimes it's too intimate to tell someone…"

"Mm…" Veronica hummed and raised her head momentarily, apparently thinking, "...so, there isn't anything you want to tell me, then?"

"Mom, I'd really rather not," Belén meant that honestly. She didn't want to think what her mother would say if she discovered that her daughter had been alter-egoing as the Azalea, and that her boyfriend was doing the same thing.

"Is 'secrets' something that Barry showed you how to keep?" Veronica got up, confusing Belén as she went on. "Because if he did, then I'm pretty sure he learned that from his pseudo-father Joe West."

"Mom…"

Veronica had crossed to the other couch to retrieve her purse. "If that's the matter then I'll have to take back everything I said about him."

"Mom, what are you-"

"I insist that Joe is covering something up with these meta cases," Veronica said, not raising her voice since Axel was still on the other couch. He was so in-tuned to his tablet he didn't notice their growing disagreements. "No one in this precinct bothered to check where these metahumans were initially being kept in prior to the metahuman compartment being built at Iron Heights. Every metahuman case that was handled was done so by Joe West and Barry Allen and that-"

"Mom-"

"I like knowing where I work, and _who_ I work with. Now you and I can both see that there is something going on in that precinct that no one else has figured out. So I'm going to ask you, Belén, do you know something that I should know? Could this argument you and Barry had possibly be linked to these metahumans?"

Belén looked down for a moment. She knew that lying to her mother about this should have been easy considering this was something important. It was something that could put her mother in danger. But, Belén found it difficult to lie straight to her mother's face. Because right now, all Belén wanted was to tell her mother all her problems she was having. She wanted to tell her mother that someone was targeting her for something dangerous; someone wanted to hurt her. That the same someone had already sent her to get shot, had already fought her and _won_. Belén wanted to share that her boyfriend was also being targeted for a clear death and she was just scared he might get hurt, or killed.

 _I need my Mom_ , she came to the conclusion. That'd been the first time she thought about her mother like that...perhaps because it was the first time Veronica had been _available_ as a mother to Belén...

But Belén couldn't do anything. Because telling Veronica everything would put her in the cross-fires of Zoom and Datura.

"There is nothing I have to say," Belén forced herself to say in one go. She surprisingly held her tears together as she then requested that Veronica leave.

Extremely upset with her daughter lying, Veronica took Axel and hurried out the door. Belén was right behind them and was there to quickly close the door.

"I'm sorry," Belén whispered, closing her eyes as they began to spill tears.

~0~

Heeding some of Joe's words, Barry decided to reveal himself to Linda in order to help both of them out. Linda was already discouraged of her villainous abilities, and seeing the Flash was an actual friend did make her a little more comfortable. It also did help explain some of the oddities surrounding STAR Labs and the Flash. So, she agreed to help him out once more. Dressed as Dr. Light, she took on the role as the Flash's current enemy.

"I'm here to kill you, Flash," she stood tall and mighty across the Flash. "I am loyal to Zoom, so get ready to fry."

Soon as she said those words she knew it was a bad pun.

She shot a ray of light towards Barry but hit a couple of a stockage from the docks instead. Barry whipped a head back and decided to just go with it.

"Ow!" he let himself fall to the ground.

"Gotcha," Linda smirked, although she struggled to stay with a serious face.

"Yeah, you did, real good," Barry pushed himself up.

"Bring it," Linda motioned with a gloved hand.

Barry sped towards her and when Linda shot, she actually managed to get him. Struggling, Barry got past her only to be shot yet again on the back. This time, his fall to the ground was not fake. Linda turned around putting on her best evil smirk.

"Told you, Zoom always wins." She walked towards Barry who had kept himself down. She bent down to take his emblem and found time to whisper to him. "You're okay, right?"

Barry cracked open an eye and whispered back. "Yeah, yeah. I had to make it look good."

Linda straightened up with the emblem in her hand. "Here it is, Zoom, I did what you wanted." She headed to where the open breech was in midair. "Now bring me home." She chucked the emblem into the breech and nervously waited for Zoom to appear.

Wells and Joe waited as well, but hidden in place with weapons hoping to deter Zoom's speed. Barry had to remain 'dead' on the ground but he was more than ready to jump at the chance when Zoom appeared. Everything was in place. Everything.

However, nothing happened. Minutes passed and everything remained silent. It added onto the fear already placed over several of the group.

"Hey, stop fidgeting," Linda hissed when she caught Barry slowly attempting to move his leg.

"Sorry, it's been an hour. I landed in a ridiculous position, and my foot fell asleep," the speedster argued quietly and returned to being 'dead'.

From STAR Labs, Caitlin and Cisco were carefully checking over any security feed from the docks they could find in case Zoom appeared from another unknown breech. "He's probably just waiting to see if you're really dead. Any minute now, he's gonna strike," Cisco said as a means of encouragement.

"No," Barry decided it was just not happening tonight. He sat up with a deep sigh.

"Sorry, I probably screwed up somehow," Linda hung her head, feeling like she had failed them all.

Barry got on his feet and moved over to give her an honest thank you. "No, Linda, you did great. Thank you for helping me."

Linda knew he was disappointed and smiled sadly. She wished there was more that she could do for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Joe and Harry coming out of hiding and the latter loudly kicking anything in his way.

"So Wells ain't taking this well," Joe sarcastically remarked as he met with Barry.

"Mm-hmm…" Barry watched Harry turn in a different direction of the docks, storming and kicking things still.

"How about you?" Joe noticed how unusually quiet Barry was despite the loss of the night.

"Yeah, it just sucks, you know," Barry shrugged, thinking of the entire day's course. "You were right a little bit about this not being just about Zoom... about it being about the Reverse Flash. But not for the reason that you think, not because I didn't beat him." With a sigh, he explained the bit of an old video Joe had yet to know about, that everyone save Belén knew. "It's... Wells... he said something to me on that video before he confessed to my mom's murder. He said that even if he was dead, that he still won because I wasn't happy, that I'd never really be happy."

Joe frowned. It was truly unbelievable how Wells could still manage to screw with them even from beyond the grave. "How the hell would he know?"

Barry shrugged again, thinking logically. "He knew me. He knows future me."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Fine. But that's future you. This is the you here and now."

"I still think that Wells is right. Ever since I went back to that night and I didn't save her... I didn't save my mom, I just... there's just been this void in me. You know, I just feel like that is always gonna be there. For better or worse, Wells...he knew me."

"Better than I know you?" Joe would have laughed had it not been a serious matter. "He may have stalked you for 15 years, but I raised you. Look, Wells said what he said to you to mess with you... to get in your head one last time. If you listen to him, you let him win."

"I know," Barry sighed. And he thought that Wells was already beginning to win. Because of his rushed persistence with this plan, he had gotten into a big argument with Belén. God knows how he would be paying for that one.

"I don't want that. You're responsible for your own happiness, Barry," Joe sincerely hoped Barry would finally begin to listen again. "Forget about Wells. Think hard about what you want and what makes you happy. Go out and get it. Simple as that. All right?"

Barry smiled a bit, giving a small nod of his head. "Yeah."

~ 0 ~

Belén had just finished setting up a small rectangular pot holder for her new Azaleas up on the kitchen window when someone knocked on her door. She dumped the trash then hurried to go open. Her heart skipped a beat when she found Barry standing on the other side. Her first thought was his lack of knowledge of today's events, and for now it seemed like the best.

"You were right," Barry decided to open with that. Perhaps hearing he was admitting she had had a point would soften her up into talking with him.

"Please tell me Linda is okay?" Belén asked in fear. Her first assumption was that his plan went wrong and it got Linda into some serious pain.

"She's fine," Barry promised her. "Zoom...didn't show."

"Oh…" Belén knew that despite her feelings on the matter she didn't like to see Barry so upset either. It was important to him, for good intentions after all. She opened the door more and gestured for Barry to come in. "I'm sorry about that," she honestly said. A good part of her was happy that Zoom didn't show up to terrorize them all, because she knew they were not prepared to fight him yet.

"Thanks," Barry watched her close the door. Sheepishly, Belén crossed the living room, or at least intended to. Barry reached out for her arm and stopped her. "Bells, I'm really sorry. You were right about it all. I knew you were right from the start but I just...I wanted to catch Zoom already."

"Yeah, I think we all saw that," Belén said, mildly playful. "And I get it, believe me I do. I want nothing more than to get Datura...but I just don't like the fact you were willing to go into it all rushed and...fast. This time, we _need_ to be slow and calculating. If Datura was difficult to manage, just imagine what Zoom is like."

"I know," Barry accepted it. "But I have to admit that...it wasn't entirely all about Zoom."

"Then…?" Belén smiled a little as she tried to understand what he meant. "...what was it about?"

"You remember the video Wells left behind as part of his will? Our Wells, I mean."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"He said that I wouldn't ever be happy no matter what. And...and it got to me more than it should have…" Barry ran a hand through his hair, still frustrated it _did_ get to him so much, to this point actually.

"I can't believe you're still giving this dead man the time of the day," Belén said first and sighed. "His words are nothing. They should have gone through one ear-" she pointed to one of his ears, "-and out the other." She then pointed to his other ear. "Ever heard of selective attention? I use it all the time."

Barry smiled knowing this was her playfulness coming out to get them back on track. "Yeah," he nodded.

"You should have said something," Belén touched his arm. "Instead of making a scene in front of our friends, I would have had a very different conversation with you somewhere else."

"Believe me if I'd realized earlier I would have." Barry reached an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers. "I hate arguing with you, Bells, so much."

"Me too," Belén whispered. "I don't like it. It just feels wrong, you know? If that makes sense?"

"Yeah, it does. I don't like knowing that I upset the person that makes me the happiest." Barry gave her a moment to smile before kissing her. And this time, he meant to kiss her in a way that would show her he was truly happy with _her_ despite everything that surrounded them. He walked her up against the nearest wall and kissed her.

Belén let herself be encased in his arms and kissed back until she had to breath, but even then she barely wanted to let go. Barry dragged his lips from hers and set a one kiss on her cheek, then another lower on her jawline, and last on the side of her neck. Afterwards, he nuzzled his nose against her neck, relishing from their moment. _This_ is what made him happy - _she_ made him happy.

"Can we just rest for a while?" his soft tone made it hard for Belén to understand the first time.

She turned her head to the side and met his eyes. "What?"

"The Zoom problem, the Datura problem...I just need one moment of peace...with you," Barry repeated, hoping he made sense without sounding...weird.

Belén brought a hand to rest on his cheek, and just a few seconds after Barry placed his hand over it. "Okay. Let's do that."

She gently pulled him into the hallway and brought him into her bedroom. She wished she could have finished fixing it earlier, but what was done was done. At least she'd gotten the bed.

It was an odd thought to just lay down together without doing anything. Usually, they had some movie times or at the very lest were joking with each other about something. Tonight, there was no television. There was no movie. There were no jokes.

And yet, things seemed more... _intimate_.

Barry was the one to rest his head next to Belén's neck. He eventually scooted closer to her and nuzzled his nose against her neck. Belén moved her arm so that it would rest over his back and she could run her fingers up and down.

It was peaceful.

"We should do this more often," Belén's voice was soft and quiet, perfect for the moment.

"Mhm," Barry had nestled his head closer to the crook of Belén's neck. He didn't want to move anytime soon.

So they continued to lay together, doing nothing except be together. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Half an hour later, both of their phones started vibrating. At first, neither of them wanted to move. Neither wanted to break the nice, peaceful bubble.

But the phones kept vibrating.

"I'm sorry," Belén kissed Barry's hair and sat up so she could answer her phone. Iris was on the other end of the line, and once she was able to speak she said it all in one fast ramble.

Zoom had Linda.

~ 0 ~

STAR Labs' computers were all simultaneously ringing in alarms, indicating there was a new visitor in the area.

"He's on the roof!" Harry shouted soon as he got word from the computer.

"He has Linda," Belén rushed to the desk to see through the security cameras where oh where was Linda. "Is Datura with him!?"

While the question couldn't be answered at once, they had a clear view of Zoom. He had chosen to dangle poor Linda over the roof's edge just as Barry got there. Proving to be the ultimate villain, Zoom dropped Linda like she was a pair of socks. Barry sped down to the ground and, using his whirlwind trick, softened Linda's fall into his arms.

"You need to get out of here, okay?" Barry set her down on her feet.

Linda was beyond terrified. "No, you can't fight that thing. It's a _monster_! I don't know who's worse, him or that crazy lady!"

"Just go!"

Linda looked up at the roof and thinking that Zoom would come for her again as bait, she ran off as fast as she could.

"What _is_ that thing?" Belén was disgusted by Zoom's appearance despite it being only through a computer screen. She had yet to see the full figure of the speedster but now wished she hadn't. "He cannot be human."

Zoom was pitch black, from head to toe. There was an eerie spark around his figure. One could even say his suit didn't have gloves for hands but instead for claws.

"He _is_ human," Harry was also staring in disgust but in a different tone. "Or was, at least."

"How the hell is Barry supposed to defeat that?" Cisco was thinking of the odds in their favor and they were not looking good.

"Why is he running away?" Harry scowled after they all saw Barry speeding away from Zoom. It looked like even Zoom was a bit confused on it too.

"He's not," Belén shook her head. "He wouldn't. I think we can all agree he's not scared."

A delirious laugh came from Cisco, prompting everyone to look at him. "Ooh, he's gonna thunderbolt him!"

"What?" Harry was left thinking.

"Jay taught him how to throw lightning," Caitlin explained.

Barry returned with a thunder bolt that he threw directly at Zoom. They were all stunned, and horrified, to see Zoom literally grab said thunderbolt and throw it right back at Barry, causing the red speedster to crash against a wall.

"Did he just…?" Belén gaped and glanced at the others just to make sure she hadn't seen things. Even Barry was in disbelief.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked through the comms.

"Uh, see him catch a bolt of lightning with his demonic claws?" Cisco met everyone's looks. "Yeah, saw that."

"Jay was right. He cannot do this alone," Caitlin shook her head.

In their shock, they hadn't even seen Harry go into the side room and come back with his trusty, big gun. "He's not alone," he was busy inputting the syringe into it.

"Barry, maybe this a strategical point where you just _run_ ," Belén spoke into the comm. hoping he would listen to her.

"No," Barry, unsurprisingly responded. He had gotten back on his feet and pulled out another syringe carrying the speed-dampener liquid. "I'm gonna see if Wells' speed-dampening serum works."

"Yes, but maybe this is the 'rushed, uncalculating' thing we were talking about earlier?"

Although Barry didn't turn off the communication system, it was almost like he did. He ignored the worries of his girlfriend in an attempt to finally put Zoom down.

"How is Barry gonna match Zoom's speed?" Belén sighed, looking to one of her smarter friends for some reassurance this wouldn't end so bad.

"He's not," Cisco smirked once he had made the realization. "He's gonna take it out of the equation altogether."

Caitlin exchanged a look with Belén, neither one of them in the know. "What are you talking about?" Caitlin then asked.

"Terminal velocity. The highest velocity attainable by a falling object."

"You mean...falling through...the air…?" Belén waved her finger above her head.

"Yeah, freefall fight. Their drag force equals the downward force of gravity, making the net force zero, making…"

"Equal velocities," Caitlin joined Cisco in the end.

"That is genius!" Cisco repeated.

"Is it really?" Belén bit her lip nervously and stared at the computer screen like a hawk.

Following through with Cisco's theory, the two speedsters had made it into the air and as they fell, they tried attacking one another. However, Zoom was the one to put Barry to the ground. Zoom picked him right up and delivered a series of punches that disoriented Barry. The last blow, the strongest of all, was given through the back - through the _spine_. Barry wasn't sure what he was hearing anymore, nor what he was seeing (it was all mostly blurry) but he sure had felt that cracking of _bones_.

"Never forget, _I_ am the fastest man alive," Zoom declared without a scratch on him to show evidence he'd been in a fight.

"He's killing him!" Belén shouted frantically and turned around, making a run to go and help.

"Woah!" Cisco quickly jumped from his chair to block her way. "You can't go out there! He'll kill you too!"

"Someone has to help him!" Belén tried pushing her way but Cisco kept her there despite her fight. "Cisco!"

"Guys!" Caitlin's loud call made them both stop. They rapidly returned to the desk to see what Caitlin wanted them for. Zoom had injected the speed-dampener into Barry's bloodstream and hadn't stopped there.

"Where did he go!?" Belén slammed a hand on the desk once they lost sight of Zoom and Barry. Even Harry, who'd gone out to help Barry, was struck with confusion.

"I-I don't know," Cisco seemed unable to think of something to help them.

"FIND HIM!" Belén cried. She would've done it herself but she didn't know how the system worked.

Zoom had gone to CC Picture News to make a show of his 'triumph'. In one hand he held an unconscious Barry and addressed the entire staff. "Look at your hero."

Iris nearly had a heart attack. Behind her, cameras started going up and active.

"This man is no god. He is _nothing_!" Zoom left them with that knowledge and next made a stop at the precinct. "The days of The Flash protecting this city are over."

All of the cops in the area formed a line with aimed guns at the speedster.

"Put him down!" Joe was the one to shout at Zoom.

"Now what will you do without your precious hero?"

"Shoot that thing, now!" Singh gave the order.

All the cops fired until their guns finished their ammo but in the end, Zoom merely dropped all of the bullets to the ground from his palm. "Nice try."

He then sped off again.

~ 0 ~

"I should have gone out there," Belén repeated for the tenth time since Zoom had gone off their radar.

"And then what? Get yourself killed? I don't think so," Cisco remained adamant that he had done the right thing in keeping her inside the place. He was sure that Barry would agree with him.

"But then we wouldn't be in this-" Belén gasped when Zoom sped right into the cortex. "Barry!"

"Harrison Wells, you thought you could defeat me with this?" Zoom lifted Barry's body like it was some rag doll in his possession.

"I made a mistake," Harry admitted truthfully.

"Yes, a costly one."

"Let him go! Let him go right now!" Belén yelled frantically and threw a hand forwards, releasing a vine.

Zoom dropped Barry and sped up to her. Belén gasped with the ugly sight in front of her face, though a good part of it stemmed from fear.

"You are not my fight," he said just a second before Cisco shot a third syringe of the speed-dampener.

Belén stumbled backwards, yelping when Zoom dropped to his knees. Still, he managed to speed out of the place before they could capture him. Soon as he did, Belén ran for Barry's body on the floor.

~ 0 ~

As soon as Joe arrived at STAR Labs after the Zoom fiasco, he went directly for blame. If he thought Harry was suspicious before, now he firmly believed that Harry was at fault for all of it.

"This is all _you_! If Barry dies, _you_ die!" Joe jabbed a finger on Harry every time he said a word.

"Enough!" Belén walked into the cortex in a hurry with Cisco. Their shouts had carried over down the hallway and, fearing a fight, Belén and Cisco left the workroom to come and stop the two men. "Joe, I get you're angry, believe me I am too, but Harry's got nothing to do with it. _Barry_ wanted to go through with the plan in the end. No one forced him."

Still, Joe cast a menacing glare at Harry who looked more or less unaffected.

Cisco debated whether or not to bring in the mysterious topic he'd learned from Harry, but seeing that Joe was inches away from punching Harry, he decided to go with it. "Who's Jesse?"

It was easy to see that Harry was shocked to know that Cisco had knowledge of the name. "How do... Jesse's my daughter. Zoom has her." Cisco seemed to then be making the connections from his earlier vibe. Harry rushed up to him. "You've... you did vibe me-"

"Yes-"

"What did you see?"

"I saw your daughter. She was with Zoom," as Cisco explained, the others shared mutual surprise - and a bit of understanding - looks.

"But she's alive?" Harry needed to hear proper confirmation that his daughter was still breathing.

"Yes," Cisco said, and he admitted that he did feel a bit of sympathy for Harry. If he was grumpy all the time and had short patience it had to be because he was constantly worrying over his daughter being kidnapped by Zoom.

"Zoom sent you here like the others? You kill The Flash, and you get your daughter back?" demanded Joe, still un-inclined to see Harry in any other light.

"I don't...think he did…" Belén barely got the chance to say when Harry answered and explained his reasons.

"The only way I get my daughter back is I capture Zoom. Do you understand?" Harry tapped the side of his head sarcastically. "You love Barry. I love my daughter. And none of these children are safe as long as Zoom is here. I tried on my Earth to capture him. I failed. I thought I could bring him down here with Barry's help. I was wrong."

"Where are you-" Joe didn't finish on account of Harry storming out of the cortex.

~ 0 ~

When Barry finally came to, he felt his entire body aching in pain. He felt something tight around his neck and took a couple of seconds to realize it was a neckbrace.

"Can you hear me, Barry?" he heard a familiar voice beside him. He found Belén sitting beside his bed, looking so concerned over him. "I've been calling you for a couple of minutes now. Can you hear me?"

"Sorry…" Barry looked around as much as he could and saw it was broad daylight through the windows.

Belén followed his gaze and sighed. "You were out-cold for the entire night. Cait said it was normal, for you anyways…"

"How bad is it?" Barry could see a couple of bruises on his arms and he was sure there were more to discover once he could get rid of the neck brace. But even now, his body still hurt to the point he'd rather not move.

"Well, Caitlin said if you didn't heal fast it would be truly bad," Belén felt relief knowing this situation wouldn't last long for him.

"And...Linda?"

"She's fine. She told Iris and me that she was going to stay with some friends out in Coast City," Belén sighed. "I think after everything that's happened to her it's the best thing she can do."

"...Zoom?"

Belén's eyes lowered. "Um...let's...let's give that some time." When she looked at him again she had plastered a fake, cheery expression for him. "Caitlin says that in a couple of days you'll be able to try and walk and run again." She touched one of his legs with a small smile. "But you're gonna have to be patient. And don't worry, I have a lot of movies we can watch. Maybe we can try to just rest together again?"

Barry smiled, though tired, because the way in which she had asked made her look adorable. He needed that right now. "I'd like that."

Belén's smile widened. She ran her hand up and down his leg. "But you'll be patient, okay?"

Before Barry could answer, he thought of something. He realized that in all this time he hadn't felt her touch. Her fingers running down his leg...he didn't feel it. Thinking perhaps it was just the medication that was affecting his mind, he tried sitting up to check for himself.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no, you have to stay put!" Belén assumed he would try to get back in the running game before he could.

"No, Bells, I...I didn't feel your hand…"

"What-"

"I can't feel my legs!" Barry frantically yelled, leading Belén to call for their friends.

~ 0 ~

"It's about time you showed up," Wells heard soon as he put one foot into the alleyway he'd been appointed to.

Datura's heels clicked against the cement underneath but she still walked in a graceful manner to meet with Wells. "I was doing my errands." Her sarcasm was met with rolling eyes. "C'mon, you can at least say you like where we're meeting," she gestured to the alley, "It's where I made my first Earth 1 kill a few days ago. What was her name?"

Harry dismissed her smugness and went straight to business. "The hell did you want me for? Can I expect Zoom to make another appearance?"

Datura smirked, almost laughing since she knew exactly what happened. "He really knows how to make an entrance, doesn't he? But that's not why I'm here now. I need you to retrieve something for me," Datura said, losing her sarcasm when it came to her brewing idea.

Of course that idea, whilst unknown to Harry, was one that would require him to further betray the STAR Labs team. "What do you need?" he finally asked.

"It's simple. I need Belén's suit tracker." Datura raised her head the moment Harry's eyes widened. She was already tall, but this was one of her ways to feel in control. And unfortunately for Harry, she _was_ in control.

"Why do you need that!?"

Datura's red lips curled into an evil smirk. "That's for you and the others to find out later - soon, if all my errands go well."

"I...I can't do that-" Harry attempted to argue but Datura raised a finger to stop him.

" _Don't_ say no to me. No one says no to me," she said darkly, bringing one gloved hand to the air. Electricity crackled around it for a few seconds before it was fired at the dumpster just behind Harry. The man jumped to the side to avoid getting hit then wildly blinked at her. She, however, remained completely at ease. "It's not a difficult mission, Wells. All you have to do is take the damn device and bring it to me. I'd let you keep it but I don't trust you not to hand it back to the others."

"What do you need it for!?" Harry still demanded some type of answer from her.

"For an idea, I've said this already," she playfully rolled her eyes.

"I can't take that from her suit!"

"Well, I'd ask you to take it from Barry's suit but he's on another level. _I'll_ take care of him when the time comes." Her resurfaced evil smile gave Harry the chills.

"I thought he was all Zoom's..."

"He is, but it doesn't mean I can't have my own fun. Besides," Datura put her hands behind her back as she took a couple steps forwards, "He's not my target. He's really just a bonus for me - to get to Belén, I need him on the side. And to do that, I need Belén's suit tracker. It's really a whole-" she made hand gestures in the air, "-cycle thing that only I understand, but..." she drew in a deep breath and put on a sweet smile, "...it's all good. _I_ get it. _So_ -" she came to stand right in front of Harry, her sweet smile gone and replaced with seriousness, "-get me the suit tracker by tonight or I'll get it myself and I won't care who gets in my way."

Harry honestly felt like shooting her right there and then...but he was out of weapons...and he was short one daughter. " _Fine_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm baaaaack! I meant to update way before but I had family visiting for all of April and then I ran into some health problems myself. Hopefully, things will be back on track from here on out!


	8. Losing My Head

Out in the reserved training area of STAR Labs, Cisco stood at a safe distance from Belén, holding a tablet in both hands. His fingers danced over the screen while his eyes flickered from it to the targets he'd set up for his friend to hit.

"Ready?" he called.

Belén nodded her head. "Bring it, Cisco."

With a small shrug, Cisco activated said targets. The three targets released several tendrils of vines that shot with rapidness to get her. Belén did her best to dodge them all and send back her own vines. However, being so focused on the vines she forgot the most important detail of fighting Datura.

She had more than one power.

One target shot electricity that blasted Belén a good amount back. Her body came to a stop eventually, but when she raised her head off the cement she looked close to screaming in frustration.

"Sorry!" called Cisco who quickly turned everything off.

"That's the fourth time!" Belén exclaimed, smacking a hand on the ground before she got up. "Clearly, I'm not getting this!"

Cisco sprinted towards her with the intention of calming her down. "Hey, we've been at this for a while now-"

"-two hours," Belén bitterly said. "And we've been doing this for a while now so why the hell am I not getting it? Datura's going to kick my ass - _again_ \- in 10 seconds flat if I keep this up."

"You can't expect to have this in a week, Bells," Cisco said softly. "You just need to keep training."

"But will it really be enough?" Belén folded her arms, eyes darting to the side. "I only fought Datura once and it was only because she decided to go that I'm still living, technically. What's going to happen the next time she comes?"

"You'll fight her with everything you've got," Cisco answered.

"But if this is all I've got then I might as well just let her stab me."

"Bells, you're just tired. You've been helping Barry and not sleeping like he and the rest of us asked you to-"

Belén raised a hand to stop him from talking. "The fact you all thought I would leave Barry while he's literally getting back on his feet is still hilarious to me," she said so deadly serious it was almost scary. "Though I should be more offended."

"I'm just saying, and I think I speak on behalf of the others, including Barry, it's okay to take some time for yourself," Cisco took a step back for good measure. No one had been brave enough to say it to Belén to her face.

Belén opened her mouth when they both heard their phones going off back at the table. Belén immediately assumed it had to do with Barry and his progress. "Can't do that," she told Cisco before darting for the table.

~ 0 ~

Barry knew that everyone around him was just trying to help him, but it really didn't make it better when they were all crowded around him like hawks as they watched him struggle to take a decent step. He held that in while Joe helped him take his first step down the cortex. But he felt like a goddamn child, and not even a self-sufficient one at that.

"All right, I got you," Joe reached for the cane given to Barry for support until he could walk on his own. Barry wearily let go of the cane and took a deep breath to begin his steps on his own.

He pushed his feet forwards and swallowed down a mild jab of pain he felt shooting up his legs. The third step was the last step he felt he could take. "Okay, I can't do it right now, all right?" he let himself fall on Thawne's old wheelchair with a big sigh.

"Hey guys," Belén walked in a moment afterwards. Cisco came right behind with a small greet. "How are we doing with the walk?" Belén came straight to Barry.

"We're making so much progress," Iris answered first and ignored the sour face Barry was making behind. "Right?" she looked to Caitlin for some backup.

"We are," Caitlin nodded, hoping to encourage Barry.

Of course, their words were cancelled out when Barry spoke up using full sarcasm to ridicule his own progress. "Yep, six whole steps. Someone get me a Bozo button."

"Hey, give yourself some credit. You just broke your back," Cisco thought he needed a reminder of the gravity of his situation.

"Yeah, a normal person would've been paralyzed the rest of his life," Belén reached for Barry's hand. "You're doing amazing."

Barry found that hard to believe. It had been days since he fought Zoom and while he was somewhat back on his feet he knew there were already some losses that he could never get over. Yet, no one was - ironically - mentioning anything from that part. "How long until I'm fully healed?" he asked from Caitlin.

Caitlin went behind the desk to pull his x-ray scans up on the screens of the walls. She thought if he saw his progress he would be less hard on himself. "The initial MRI I took a week ago showed a complete dislocation at the T12-L1 interspace of the thoracolumbar junction. But that's the MRI I took this morning. It's remarkable, but you're almost completely healed."

"I'm still having trouble breathing…"

"That's totally normal with a spinal injury. It should clear up soon."

Barry looked back at his suit sitting on display. Belén knew where his thoughts laid and gripped his hand in hers. "You'll be back in that suit in no time, just watch." Her words didn't seem to make an effect on him.

"What are we gonna do about Zoom?" he asked instead.

"No sign of him since Cisco nailed him with that tranq dart," Joe said rather happy about it.

"And I haven't vibed since then. Maybe Zoom's not coming back," Cisco's eyes drifted to the rest of the group. They all knew the chances of that happening were slim.

"I highly doubt that," Harry came into the cortex with his jacket on and gun in hand. "Which is why I'm gonna go do something about it."

"And what, pray tell, does that mean?" Belén wearily glanced at the man. Instead of helping them out with Barry's situation, Harry had decided to be reclusive and bitter.

"I need access to your breach room and your speed cannon," Harry declared, mildly surprising the others.

"Why is that?" asked Barry.

"Because, Barry, it's time to go home."

Joe shot Harry an incredulous look. "So, you show up on our Earth, you screw everything up, and now you want to go home? Sounds very familiar."

"Again, that wasn't me. I need to go take care of Zoom once and for all before anyone else gets killed."

"Exactly how do you plan on doing that?" Belén didn't want to be rude and remind him that he was only there in the first place because he hadn't figured a way out to stop Zoom in his own. She hoped she would be subtle.

"I'll think of something. Ramon, if you'll escort me to the speed cannon," Harry didn't wait for an answer and started out of the room. He had enough of this wallowing in grief stuff. Datura was waiting for him to deliver Belén's suit tracker and since he wasn't going to actually do it, he needed to get the hell out of Earth 1 before she returned. At least on Earth 2, she couldn't force him to continue sneaking around Earth 1 STAR Labs.

"No, no, you can't go through the breach!" Caitlin hurried to stop Harry, not that the man seemed any less inclined to slow down.

"Yeah, he can," Joe said, forcing Caitlin to pause and turn back. "Jay taught us how to send people."

"That's not what I mean," Caitlin warned them to be quiet for a moment and then looked up to Harry.

Cisco shot Caitlin a confused look. "What are you doing? If Harry wants to go...bye," he wiggled his fingers.

"Look, like it or not, Cisco, we need his help."

Joe was quick to disagree. "I'm not sure another plan from Wells is what we need."

"Yeah, I mean, the last bright idea he had nearly got Barry killed," Iris didn't think they needed a repeat of that.

"I know, but Jay's gone, and Dr. Wells knows Zoom better than anyone, so until Barry is back on his feet again, we need to keep Wells around in case Zoom returns."

"Caitlin, if he doesn't want to be here, then we're better off without him," Barry shrugged. "Let him go."

Belén dreaded to voice her opinion that she actually agreed with Caitlin. As much as they hated to admit it, Harry was the only one left who knew everything about Zoom and Datura, not to mention Harry was frikin brilliant. Caitlin, on the other hand, would not hide hers.

"I can't do that. Not yet," she shook her head and walked out.

Soon as she walked out, an alarm went off.

"Oh, snap, metahuman attack!" Cisco broke into a run for the desk. However, the alarm turned out to be nowhere near what they believed. "Nope, nope, my bad, that is just an alert for me," Cisco apologized with a meek smile.

"What?" Belén frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's just a reminder. I have a date in an hour, so…"

"Oh, with who?" Iris asked, still in the dark of Cisco's newest girl.

A great big smile broke across Cisco's face as he replied, "With the lovely Kendra Saunders, the barista at Jitters. Oh, she makes a mean latte. I think we're gonna go out for dinner and a movie, and then, I don't know-" he coughed and mumbled, "-maybe some breakfast."

"Wait, breakfast?" Barry played dumb, even putting on the best face of confusion that he could. "Why breakfast? I don't…"

Cisco's smile faded as he bought into the entire ruse. "Yeah...cause, you know, you go home…'' he would think he wouldn't need to explain this.

"Cisco…" Belén smiled a bit at the cluelessness of her friend. He was probably so smitten with Kendra he couldn't pick up on anything else right now.

"He's messing with you," Joe was close to laughing as well. Iris was being polite by looking away to laugh.

Cisco narrowed his eyes on Barry who was smiling rather cheekily. "Oh," Cisco frowned. "Not cool dude!"

"It's okay Cisco," Belén couldn't help but go in and defend him, at least this one time. "Barry probably did need an explanation because he wouldn't know anything about having ' _breakfast_ ' so…"

It seemed to help _Cisco_ alright.

"Wha - Belén!" Barry gaped at her completely, his face already flushing red.

"Hm," Cisco strode out with a great, big smirk on his face.

"You had it coming," Belén turned to him with arms crossed. "Don't mess with poor Cisco like that right before his first date with a cute girl."

"Yeah, alright, but did you really have to go _there_? In front of...?" Barry made a not-so-subtle nod towards Iris and Joe, both of whom were still struggling not to laugh out loud.

Suddenly, a second alarm started blaring in the room, those remaining collectively rolled their eyes thinking it was another of Cisco's "date" reminders.

"Anyone know how to turn that feature off?" Iris decided to ask for future references.

Belén scoffed as she moved for the desk. "I don't think that'll be enough to stop him - oh my God it's not a date reminder it's an actual alarm!"

"Where?" Barry decided to move quicker than he was physically able to and suffered the consequences. His groan echoed in the room and before he could keel over, Joe caught him. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" Barry angrily waved a hand to shoo Joe away.

"Please don't do that again," Belén warned while she located their newest meta. "Not until Caitlin says you can at least."

"So, where's the meta and what's it doing?" Iris positioned herself beside Belén.

"It's a break-in at Mercury Labs," Belén said with a frown. "And that's a bit confusing because, no offence, but, most of our criminal metas are idiots."

"With the exception for a few," Barry's words carried a significant meaning. "Who is it?"

"I don't know," Belén left Iris at the computers. "But I'll let you know in a bit." She then looked at Iris. "Keep Nina on standby just in case."

Iris nodded. "On it."

Belén hurried towards her suit but stopped by Barry to kiss his cheek. "I'll be right back."

"Please be careful," he said, wishing he could be more useful to help her. The city had been solely relying on her for all their trouble and that was a load to carry, he would know. But, with his legs just barely able to sustain him he'd only get in the way.

~0~

The scene at Mercury Labs was a usual one when it was under fire. The first floor was a mess, furniture turned over and a couple shattered windows on the ground. What wasn't so usual were the two culprits standing at the center not doing anything.

Until they heard the steps they wanted. The Azalea had arrived.

The brunette first looked over her shoulder before making a motion for the ginger to go forwards. She then turned around completely to give full display of her smugness that shined even under her mask. "Do you honestly think you're ready for round 2?"

Belén raised her head in silence. She'd honestly been expecting this to just be a regular robbery, but that wasn't the case with Datura. It could never be.

"Belén?" she started to hear Iris' through the comm. in her ear. "It's her, isn't it? Datura?"

"Bells…" Barry's voice was full of concern.

"I'm fine," Belén said in an almost mumble.

Datura chuckled from her spot. "Let me guess, they're worried about you? Well, I mean, they should be."

"What do you want from this place?" Belén decided to go in a different alternative. She knew that if she listened to Datura's mocks it would only make her doubt herself even more.

"Things," answered Datura. "But I have to say I'm a little disappointed in how little advanced Mercury Labs is here."

"Sorry, next time I'll let them know we need better equipment for you to steal," Belén found herself being easily sarcastic.

"That's all I'm asking for," Datura went with it and even did a mock bow for show. However, just as she raised her head she struck a hand forwards, firing a deadly red energy that threw Belén backwards against the open entrance door. Datura's eyes flashed a golden yellow as she watched Belén pick herself up with wobbly legs. "You should always expect the unexpected," Datura's voice was overlapped with a second one, both terribly snappy.

Belén tried not to groan as she picked her head up from the ground, but that really did hurt. _That bitch_. And the fact Datura was smirking so smugly wasn't helping either. Belén planted a hand on the floor and let thin vines creep underground until they were directly underneath Datura's feet. Datura didn't feel the vines attack her ankles until they slammed her flat on the ground. Now it was Belén's turn to smirk. "You're right, you should always expect the unexpected," Belén got up and raised her hands to lift the glasses from the entrance door to start throwing at Datura.

Datura rolled to the side and shot Belén a glare. "The hero trying to cut me with glass? That's _really_ unexpected."

"Shut the hell up!" Belén had no interest in playing Datura's game. Yes, she was mad at hell because Datura knew exactly how to press her buttons. The mere presence of the woman reminded Belén how she'd lost so easily against the Earth 2 metahuman. So yeah, maybe she was trying to play the game like Datura was.

Datura briefly smirked before charging for Belén. Her eyes glowed a piercing white before firing lasers from them.

"Belén?" called Barry through the comms, but of course all he and Iris heard were the crashes and groans from the two women. "We're calling Nina-"

"-no!" Belén managed to say while avoiding one of Datura's lasers from cutting through her leg. "I can - OW!"

Datura had caught her thigh and that _hurt_. Belén looked down at the opened wound and scowled at the culprit. Datura smirked and tossed a sphere of white energy between her hands. "You can't beat me."

It was just four words, four words, and they had that added that much more anger to what Belén was already feeling. Frustrated, Belén ran towards Datura with all powers ready to go. The spheres of energy dissipated from Datura's hands in time for the woman to combat Belén. The two went at it and as much as Belén hated to admit, Datura seemed to either be on the _same_ level as her or was better than her.

"Belén!" Barry called, or shouted, in vain. He tried rigging up the security feed to see exactly what was going on. "Iris, hit that one!" he frantically pointed to the keyboard at the edge of the desk. Iris scrambled to do the task and seemed to do it on time.

Datura was catching Belén's hands each time the latter attempted to strike. Datura smirked as she got to see a close up on Belén's frustration. The ombre-blonde was close to snapping or crying out of pure frustration. And yet, it was no surprise for Datura. She knew this would happen and she would enjoy every minute of it.

"Datura, let's go!"

Well, almost every minute of it. Datura pushed Belén away from her and threw Poison Ivy an irritated look. "Seriously? Now!?"

Poison Ivy held a couple devices in her hands and she merely raised them to remind Datura why they'd come to Mercury Labs in the first place. "Let's go! _Now!_ "

Datura groaned. "Fine! Until next time, Azalea."

Belén glared at Datura. Her entire body ached and she was frankly out of breath. Even as she raised her hand to attempt at stopping them, her powers didn't release as they usually did. Datura and Poison Ivy made another clean escape.

~ 0 ~

"Well this is really great," Cisco sarcastically went on with gestures going between Belén and Barry, "Not only is our speedster down, but our Azalea is too."

If it was possible to kill with a look, Belén would have murdered Cisco in that moment. She sat on the edge of the medical bed while they waited for Caitlin to stitch up an open wound on her neck. She'd already stitched up the wound on Belén's thigh. Yup, there were multiple stitches this time.

"I'm not down, Cisco," Belén said in what sounded more like a warning for Cisco to stop with that.

"Belén, could you stop..." Caitlin trailed off and nodded down to Belén's hands. The latter realized she was gripping the edges and adding on pressure to her neck.

"Sorry," Belén mumbled as she let go. She put her hands - which had some red spots on her knuckles - on her lap and kept quiet while the others went on.

"What was Datura looking for at Mercury Labs?" Iris asked her father since the CCPD had already visited the scene.

"They took some prototypes of a few devices," Joe answered, "But the odd part was they were all being used to alleviate sleep and dreams. Some new market McGee was trying to get at."

"Sleep and dreams?" Barry repeated, frowning, as were the others. "What does she want to do with that?"

"Give us wicked nightmares, I bet," Cisco said with widened eyes, already terrified at the thought. "Because she isn't already giving it to us in real life."

"She's not going to win for long," Belén scooted off the bed once Caitlin was finished. "I'm going to get her."

"You need to take it easy," Caitlin told her in that doctor-ly tone that left no room for arguments. "You have multiple bruises - I just stitched up two decently wide, open wounds - and look at your hands? You're lucky you don't have a concussion."

"I get it, she kicked my ass," Belén snapped, though not specifically at Caitlin. She was just upset in general. " _Again_."

Caitlin sighed. "That's not what I meant to say-"

"-I know," Belén moved to leave.

"Belén, where are you going?" called Barry, wishing he could catch up with her but he was lucky if he could spring two steps without falling on his face. Perhaps that was the reason she stopped and turned back.

"To train, where else?" she, again, snapped. "You saw what she did to me!"

"Yeah, but you heard Caitlin-"

"-and you heard the part where Datura won _again_ , right?"

"We don't know where they are anyways," Cisco chimed in to take some of the tension away. "Even if you train right now, it won't make much of a difference. And, hello, you need to rest!"

Belén cringed with frustration. "I'M NOT -" but she stopped midway with her hands in the air. Slowly, she brought them down and un-clenched them. "If I keep letting Datura get away, she'll just keep hurting people and stealing things. I have to do something." She dared them all with a look to say she was wrong. When no one said anything, she tilted her head as an indication of ' _I thought so_ ' and left the room.

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on her," Barry rubbed his face, probably just as frustrated as Belén was. "I'd do it, but..." he made a languid gesture at his legs. He really felt so useless and it just kept getting worse and worse.

~ 0 ~

When Belén went to pick up her nephew from preschool, she was surprised to find her mother already in custody of Axel by the front gate of the school. Not wanting to cause a scene, especially in front of Axel, Belén came up to the two with a polite smile across her face.

"Mom, you're here...what a surprise," she said in mildly strained tone.

"Auntie Belén!" Axel excitedly hugged her, completely missing the flinch his aunt did.

"What's happened to you?" Veronica didn't miss anything. She was appalled to see her daughter's hands red and the clear stitches across Belén's neck made nothing better. "Are you okay!?"

"I thought we agreed I would pick Axel up today," Belén attempted to go down the road of ignorance. She didn't want her mother hassling her for answers.

"Calm down, I only came to find you," Veronica raised her hands to show she'd come in a peaceful stance. "But that was before I saw...you. Belén, honey, you have to tell me what happened to you. Did someone hit you? Was it Ba-"

"Mom, for the love of God, don't finish that sentence," Belén wearily pleaded.

Veronica pursed her lips together. She had to agree silently that Barry didn't look like the abusive type. But that still left the question of who was hurting her daughter. The bubbling rage she felt under her skin got no better with Belén's evasiveness. "Belén, I am _begging_ you to tell me what is going on. Please. I know we have our differences but...honey, someone is _hurting_ you. They're causing you physical pain and I want them brought in."

Belén felt her shoulders shake. Crying was _not_ an option. No sir. "I can't, Mom. Was there a reason you came here?"

"Why can't you just be honest with me?" Veronica asked in a hurt manner.

"Because I can't. And it's not because I'm mad with you, it's just that I really can't. It's better this way." And yet somehow, Belén wasn't entirely sure that was truth anymore. Would it be better to keep her mother away from all this metahuman stuff?

Veronica shook her head. "It's things like these that don't make me stop my investigation, Belén. Because you can deny it all you want but we both know there is something going on that you're not telling me." Veronica allowed her words to sink in Belén's mind before adding on. "And I know that Joe and Barry are involved in this, so don't think this is over. I do love you, you know, and I just want to know what's going on in your life. So if you won't tell me, I'm just going to keep looking until I get the answers I need."

"Auntie Belén," Axel tugged on Belén's purse once Veronica had gone. "Why do you and grandma fight a lot?"

Belén should've known that by now Axel would catch on to the fact neither she nor his grandmother were getting along so well. She took Axel by the hand and started walking in the opposite direction where she parked her car.

"Um...your grandma and I...are just...having little problems. But you don't have to worry, sweetie."

"Okay," Axel shrugged it off like any four year old would. "Are we going to STAR Labs today? I wanna throw things into the holes!"

"Dammit Cisco," Belén mumbled under her breath.

"Can we!? Can we!?" Axel grew more excited by the minute.

"No more throwing things into holes, first of all," Belén clarified. "And right now isn't a good time to go."

"Why not?" Axel stopped his hops and frowned.

"Because, well…" Belén thought of the simplest way to put it, "...Barry is a little bit...sick, and…"

Axel gasped and covered his mouth. "Oh no! Are you going to be sick too?"

Belén chuckled at his thoughts. "No, Axel, I'm not. It's not contagious, I promise. So, what do you want to do today? We don't have to be back at grandma's until eight."

Axel grinned slowly as he got an idea.

~0~

"It's been a while since you visited, Belén," Dr. Baeva offered the young woman a kind smile. By the looks of Belén's appearance, she could use one.

"Lot's happened," Belén made a weak gesture at herself, not that she wasn't aware Dr. Baeva hadn't taken her appearance in. "I've been a bit busy dealing with our city's newest metas."

"Oh yes," nodded Dr. Baeva. "I've seen them on the television. How's our Flash doing?"

Belén's face wasn't a readable one. "Physically, he's getting better. Mentally...well, that's another thing. But I'm sure you know that."

Dr. Baeva nodded again. "And how are you, Belén?"

Belén automatically heaved a heavy sigh. "Not well. Long story short, I keep getting my ass handed to me by Datura, featuring Poison Ivy on occasion. And then to top it off, my mom and I are still not getting along. And it's not even because of our mother-daughter relationship it's because of all this secret meta stuff I'm dealing with." She took in another deep breath after her long ramble. "So, no, I'm not doing well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dr. Baeva said. "Would you like to expand on those things? I think taking it piece by piece would be a good idea to prioritize between the bigger problems and the small ones."

At this point, Belén was ready to try anything. "I mean, the Datura problem is a really big one. She can travel between worlds at her beck and call and...Dr. Baeva, she's a siphoner. She has countless powers at her fingertips and she can alternate between them."

"She sounds incredibly strong," Dr. Baeva agreed based on the facts presented. "But I have reason to believe so is the Azalea."

But at that comment, Belén scoffed loudly. "See this?" she pointed at her exposed neck stitches. "She did that. And I have another one on my thigh. I have multiple bruises on my body and look at my hands!" she turned her hands over and over.

"Belén, I'm going to ask that you take a deep breath," Dr. Baeva calmly requested. "Your rambles can turn into anxiety."

Belén took several breaths until she felt confident enough to speak at a normal pace that didn't involve so many hand gestures. "Datura...is a big problem," she began again. "I've fought her several times now and she keeps beating me. If I don't come up with something soon, she's going to kill me. So, yeah, I'm prioritizing her as a huge problem, actually."

"The good thing is, Belén, that you don't work alone. Your team members can offer new ideas and perspectives that you haven't thought of."

"I know, but...I can't help feel like it's all on me, you know? Datura is coming for _me_ , so I should be able to handle it. I should be able to handle her on my own."

"I have to ask if that's the same for the Flash? Is Zoom something he needs to take care of on his own?"

"Well, of course not, but..." Belén paused and watched Dr. Baeva smile at her, "Okay, I get what you mean by that. Maybe Datura isn't my problem, but...I'm the one who has to fight her."

"Yes, but everything you do to fight her is not solely dependent on you. Your team is there to advice you. Don't forget that."

Belén nodded slowly. "Okay. Still a huge problem, though."

"And what about your mother?"

Belén pursed her lips together while she thought of all the disagreements she had with her mother so far. "It started out with Axel's custody. I gave it to her and we were doing fine until she met my boyfriend. She didn't like him because he broke up with me and all, but once she got over that...she started to notice all these secrets of mine."

"The metahuman side of you, you mean?"

"Yeah. She's suspecting and I have to give her that I would do the same in her place. But telling my mom that I'm the Azalea...that seems like a bad idea."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because it would put her in danger," Belén said automatically. "I've seen what this life can do. I don't think my mom is cut out for that."

"She's not, or you aren't ready for her to join you at STAR Labs?" asked Dr. Baeva with a knowing smile on her face. "It's completely normal. You have been estranged from your mother for a good part of your life. Letting her into the deep part of your life is not something that comes easily."

"I can't be sure," Belén answered honestly. "And therefore, I can't say if it's a big problem or not. I love my Mom, however weird relationship we have, I do...but I don't know what to do on this one."

~ 0 ~

Barry could say that he could at least now attempt to run on a treadmill. With the passing of the days, he had more endurance and definitely more strength to keep himself from falling. The only problem now was that every time he tried to push himself more on the treadmill, he would start remembering his last encounter with Zoom. Once he heard the crack of his spine he felt it was over again.

"You done for the day?"

Barry stopped drinking water and put the lid over his bottle. He turned back and saw Belén standing at the doorway, holding two bags of Big Belly Burger.

"Peace offering?" she put on her best smile, hoping it was enough to at least get into the room.

Barry smiled at her. "You know that's like a snack for me, right?" He ate way more than 2 bags and she knew it.

"I forgot my credit card at home," she shrugged and came in. "That or Axel hid it from me 2 days ago. I'm sure it'll pop up somewhere around here."

"Is he with your Mom, tonight?"

Belén nodded her head. "Yup. I think one afternoon in STAR Labs is more than enough for him, don't you think?"

Barry chuckled. Having Axel around was definitely a mood lifter. Cisco sure seemed to love the kid being around. "You should see what he drew for me." He moved towards the table against the wall and picked up a piece of paper.

"Oh my God," Belén laughed at Axel's scribbles that did have a shape of a person.

"It's supposed to be me, the Flash, running," Barry pointed at the red blob representing himself. It warmed his heart when Axel gave it to him, especially when it came with the four year old's "You're still a hero" comment.

"He drew that with me in the afternoon when I brought him here," Belén remembered it as one of the dozens of pictures she and Axel did together. "I just wasn't sure which ones I threw away and which ones I didn't."

"I love it," Barry put the paper down on the table. "At least someone still sees me as a hero."

"Not true," Belén levelled him with a look. "I do too. And everyone else here too."

"Yeah but the city's another thing..."

"And I think they're way more afraid of Zoom so trust me, they _really_ want you back." Belén handed him the bags of food. "And I'm sorry for not being there to remind you of this."

"You don't need to apologize, Bells," Barry put the bags on the table in order to take Belén's hands. "I know you've been dealing with other things too and I'm sorry I haven't been able to help you."

"I think we've both been a little bit out of sync, huh?" Belén offered one weak smile for their troubles. Barry had to agree. It wasn't that they were angry with each other, but it was the same frustration each felt that kept them apart for a while. In a sense, they were mad at the world.

The two took a seat on the edge of the treadmill, forgetting dinner while they talked.

"Datura has kicked my ass twice, and she's made it seem like she didn't break a sweat," Belén lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Believe me, that's not what Iris and I saw," Barry had to disagree there. "You guys were following each other's moves."

"But that's the thing," Belén raised her head to sigh, "It's like no matter what I pulled, what I strategy I used, Datura knew it. It's like she expected each of my moves. I couldn't best her."

"And she couldn't best you at times," Barry once again added.

"But I didn't know what moves she would use. I got lucky. And it kills me that she knows she can one-up me each time."

"I know," Barry nodded. "Zoom knows that about me too. He practically _destroyed_ me. He showed everyone in Central City what he could do, and that I'm powerless to stop him," Barry shook his head. "They gave me a key to this city! I'm supposed to be their hero. I'm supposed to be the guy that can protect them from something as evil as that, and I failed in front of all of them." And _that_ was the image that tan over and over in his head. Because, of course the news had spread throughout the city that the Flash practically was nothing. "When they think of the Flash, all they see now is someone not strong enough to protect them."

"Not true," Belén could say honestly. "I think they see someone who _will_ fight for them. But I get what you mean. Our self esteems aren't very high at the moment, but maybe that's what they want." She knew Datura was playing a mind game with her. It was clear in her smugness and her taunts. She knew she was the better fighter, but perhaps that wasn't always going to be the same. Of course if Belén continued to think Datura was better, she would be better and thus give Datura the clear shot to win.

"Guys!? Hello!?" Cisco's urgent voice blared from the speakers. "Guys! We have a problem!"

Belén and Barry looked at each other with the same curiousness. They needed to get back to the cortex and see what else had gone wrong with their group. Once they arrived, Cisco told them (in a quick ramble of panic) that Caitlin had punched him in the face and walked out like nothing. It only took him a couple minutes to realize she must have been mind controlled, and the only one with those types of powers was...

"I can't believe we have to deal with that gorilla again," Belén scowled.

Cisco looked up from the computers where he was currently conducting multiple searches for Grodd's possible whereabouts. "There's nothing on Caitlin or Grodd."

"Okay, so...are there any ideas on why Grodd would come back from the dead just to take Cait?" Barry tried to think on his own but he couldn't find a good reason for the sudden return of Grodd.

"I don't know," Cisco replied. "It doesn't make any sense. She was always so nice to him."

"Yeah but remember what Joe said," Barry said, reminding them that the CCPD had already found several leads on the return of the gorilla from the previous days. "Grodd mind-controlled two lab technicians to steal chemicals that enhance intelligence. He wants her for something."

"He wants to make something," Belén shrugged, finding it the most logical reason. "Caitlin is pretty good at that."

"Well, looks like he left his bachelor pad in the sewers," Cisco gave up on searching through the sewer cameras.

"Right, but it's not like Grodd can just waltz through downtown in the middle of the day without anybody noticing," Belén gestured with a hand. "Someone had to see him at _some_ point...right?" her eyes flickered from Cisco to Barry for some confirmation she was on the right track.

"Right," Cisco snapped his fingers at her, making her beam, "And if there's been sightings, then we might be able to approximate his location."

"We can get the CCPD's help with that," Barry thought of. "I'll call Joe."

"Good," Cisco nodded. "We gotta get her back."

But unfortunately, their night would not bring them any successful results. Caitlin wasn't anywhere in the city streets, and it didn't appear like she would be coming out any time soon.

The next day, Barry had woken himself up to begin another session of running. If Caitlin was at the hands of Grodd, he _needed_ to get back in the field. He felt that if he wasn't at least trying to get a little better at running then he was wasting time. But then when he was running, like he was at the moment on the treadmill, he would get the images of his failed fight against Zoom and suddenly everything became senseless to him. What was the point to keep fighting if he knew he would lose?

Barry reached to the side and turned off the treadmill. He'd gotten to that 'it's senseless' part again.

"Keep that chin down, slugger," he heard a familiar voice behind.

Barry turned around to find Henry coming into the room. "Dad!" he came rushing off the treadmill to hug his father, not realizing till that moment how much he needed his father.

After getting up to speed, as much as was possible anyways, Henry took a good study of his son's records from the accident. As he pulled several exams on the screens, he was easily able to conclude there was really no problem anymore - physically. He didn't have to be a genius to know where the problem was coming from. Behind him, Barry sat on a stool watching the records he himself had gone over countless times.

"No spinal cord edema. I don't see any subacute hemorrhaging. Bone fused beautifully. You're all good, Barry," Henry finally said and turned sideways to see his son who was looking more or less displeased. "I'd give you some physical therapy, but you don't need it."

Barry acknowledged the words but didn't want to keep talking about it. "I'm really glad you're here, Dad."

Henry smiled. "Me too. You know, I tried to call, but you can't a cell in Granite Peak National Park, so…"

"Granite Peak... what are you... You went camping by yourself?" Barry was truly surprised seeing as his father hadn't been one to camp.

"Yeah, yeah, I got a tent. I went fishing every day. I have had my fill of largemouth bass for a while," Henry chuckled. "Sometimes you just have to slow down to get back to where you want to be."

"Yeah. Look, Dad…" Barry began but really didn't have the right words to explain himself. Luckily for him, someone came into the room. He was relieved to see that it was Belén, whom he'd hadn't seen since yesterday despite her promise to be back from wherever she had to go.

Belén was surprised to find Barry with his father and immediately felt like she'd interrupted. "Oh, I'm so sorry…" she grabbed her purse from the desk after a second of putting it down. "I thought...there was...no one, but - I'll just find Cisco!"

"Bells!" Barry went after her (as best as possible on his slow pace) while Henry called 'it's fine!' to her. Belén was stopped by Barry just by the threshold. "Hey, it's fine, really," Barry took her by the hand and led her back inside the room.

"I'm sorry," Belén sheepishly told Henry once they were face to face. "I-I didn't know you were going to be in the city."

"Iris called me in and explained the situation to me," Henry explained. "I couldn't just ignore it."

Belén's eyebrows raised together, suddenly remembering that she had meant to help Iris come up with a decent solution to Barry's problem. How could she forget that? "I'm happy she did that," Belén smiled lightly, truly meaning those words. She was only upset that she'd not helped like she was meant to. Where was her head lately?

Cisco came in hollering something about finding Caitlin. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before," he said as he fiercely got into the computers. "It's so King Kong!"

"Cisco, no offence, but what the hell are you talking about?" Belén came up beside him, dreary looking.

"I'm ignoring that because we don't have the time," Cisco responded calmly and gave a 'yahoo!' when he pulled up three different belltowers in the city. "Grodd has to be in one of these bell towers. The only reason we couldn't find him on any cameras underneath the city before was because he upgraded from a bachelor pad to a penthouse, like a baller."

"Okay, so we know where he is," Barry slowly joined him and Belén. "We still don't know how to get her."

A wide smile spread across Cisco's face, signaling that the second part of the plan had already been thought of. "We got a plan for you."

"That smile means it's something stupid or just...plain wrong," and for that, Belén took one step away from Cisco.

"What's the plan?" Barry asked.

Cisco did not answer as Wells came into the room, dressed as the Reverse Flash. "We use _me_."

Barry did not attempt to control himself and sped Wells out of the cortex and right against a wall.

"No, Barry! That's Harry!" Cisco went after the two. Belén and Henry did the same, but both were just as confused as Barry. "That's the other Wells! Barry. Let him go!"

It took a moment for Barry to grasp the concept of the idea. He awkwardly let go of Harry and took a step back, hand in his hair. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You're still here," Belén blinked at Harry. "I thought you were going home."

Harry kept silent because he didn't really have a response for that. One moment he was sure of what he needed to do - which was to leave - and then the next Caitlin comes in with words that made him doubt where his place was.

"We found another suit in the Time Vault," Cisco moved beside Harry.

"Bit sinister, don't you think?" Belén could not stop staring at Harry and think about Eobard. It gave her shivers.

"I thought he was dead," came Henry's input which reminded everyone that he was not up to speed with the situation.

"He's dead," Barry made sure to clarify. "This is... this is Harrison Wells from Earth-2."

Henry was still just lost. "Earth-2?"

"Whole other story that includes multiple universes," Belén briefly explained.

"If we can get Harry to convince Grodd that he's Wells, that he's his father, maybe we can convince him to let Caitlin go," Cisco finally just shared the entire plan.

"I'm not gonna be able to help if anything goes wrong," Barry needed Harry to understand that. They needed to get Caitlin back but everyone needed to be on the same page of the risks.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Harry nodded.

"If worst comes to worst, I'll go," Belén volunteered, earning herself a very dreadful look from Barry. She met his gaze with a small smile. "I'm not going to hide when people need my help."

"We won't need you," it was Harry who had spoken up this time. Belén threw him an incredulous glance, probably confounded with his risky choice. Harry just thought that maybe if she didn't use her suit, he might be able to extract the suit tracker and make another one identical to it without use. Let's see Datura do her plan with that.

~ 0 ~

However odd and risky their plan was...it worked. And that came as a shock because of the aforementioned details. Grodd had been subdued and would be relocated somewhere to be determined.

Caitlin, who'd remained completely unharmed, tended to Harry who hadn't had the same luck. She worked to wrap a gauze on the side of Harry's stomach in one of the side rooms.

"Thank you for rescuing me by the way," Caitlin said to him, thinking he had it very well deserved. Despite having problems amongst the team, at least they could say Harry was truly on their side.

"Well, we're a team, right?" Harry gave a tiny smile through his sore limbs.

"I'm impressed," Cisco came into the room, along with the rest.

"I think we all are," Belén corrected, patting him on the arm as she walked in.

"Yeah, well, we need to do something about Grodd," Joe got them moving along to the problem.

"Like what?" Caitlin asked.

"Like get rid of him for good."

Caitlin finished her work in time to freeze in her spot. "You want to _kill_ him?" she blinked, clearly surprised.

"Considering how many people he's killed, yeah."

Caitlin looked at the rest for some help. "This isn't Grodd's fault. He's only like this because Wells made him this way."

Barry could understand that her affection for the animal may have been a contributing factor for her opposition, so he tried being as kind as possible to make her see the issue. "Yes, but, Cait, he kidnapped you and you could have died."

"You didn't see what I saw. Grodd's getting smarter. He's lonely and sad," Caitlin argued softly. "He wants more apes like him."

"What are you saying? He wants kids?" Cisco made a face stricken with horror. "Cause I'm pretty sure one telepathic Grape Ape is more than enough for this city."

"I can see where you're coming from, Cait, but...you can't make more smart gorillas," Belén said, but then paused to think, "...can you?"

" _No_ ," Joe said sharply, hoping that no one got on that idea.

"I know somewhere we could send him," Harry suddenly said, getting up from the bed. "When the singularity exploded and I discovered the breach in S.T.A.R. Labs, I ran similar tests and discovered the same thing, 51 additional breaches." He made a beeline for the desks in the cortex and started up one of the computers. "The difference being the breaches in Central City are scattered all throughout the city whereas counterparts in my world most definitely are not."

"And you know where they lead?" asked Barry.

"Well, I was in the process of figuring all that out when Dr. Snow so gallantly convinced me to stay, but if I am correct, this breach-" Harry pulled one specific breech profile up on screen for them to see, "-is gonna get Grodd as close to home as he's ever likely to get."

"Okay, even if you're right, how do we bait Grodd to go through it?" Joe knew that the police were definitely out of this mission.

"My son'll do it," Henry answered, startling everyone but no one more than Barry. "Won't you, Flash?"

Barry's eyes widened and for the first couple of minutes he said nothing.

Belén cleared her throat quietly. "We could always, also, call in Nina. I figure she'd probably be more useful than me."

Barry swallowed and shook his head. "No. Grodd is going to have to face _me_ now. It's about time."

~ 0 ~

It didn't take much to bring Harry's plan to life. In a couple of hours, they were ready to go to bring Grodd into the new world.

"Cisco's at the spot," Iris reported from the desk and looked up Barry who was, after many days, finally back in his Flash suit. "You ready?"

"Caitlin, just be careful," Belén said for the third time to the brunette. She felt it was too early for Caitlin to get back in the field, and so close to Grodd. "And Barry, please, _please_ , be careful too."

Barry gave a small nod. "I will be back in one piece, you'll see."

"You better," Belén meant to be warning but her concern didn't allow for that.

"I will," Barry promised, slightly amused, and moved to Caitlin. "Ready to go, then?"

"Yeah," Caitlin spared her friends another look then let Barry take her away.

Belén then hurried to the desk where Iris was. When Joe and Henry rejoined them, Barry had already begun the game of chase with Grodd.

"How's it going?" Joe asked the two women, peering between them to get a look at the computers.

"Caitlin's safe and Barry is currently running away from Grodd," Belén replied.

"So Barry's gonna lure Grodd in front of the breach?" Henry asked just to be sure he understood the plan of the group.

"Yep, and once he gets him to the right spot, Cisco's gonna blast him into Earth-2 with his…" Iris failed to come up with the right word to describe Cisco's device.

"Thingamajig," her father finished for her, and the four had a small laugh.

"I think he said it was a speed canon," Belén tilted her head in thought. "He hates when we don't remember the names of his devices."

"Well, things have gotten a lot more complicated since I got out of prison," Henry remarked, giving a shake of his head.

"Mm-hmm. Man, you have no idea," Joe agreed with a hum.

They waited a couple of more minutes then switched to the street footage where they could see the breach Grodd was meant to go into. Grodd soon caught up with Barry and immediately inflicted his telepathic powers on the speedster. He effortlessly threw Barry across the street.

"Oh, my God!" Iris gasped, everyone beside her doing the same.

"I should have gone," Belén told herself repeatedly.

Henry took the comm. Microphone between her and Iris. "Get up, Barry. Now!"

They could see Barry was indeed doing his best to get back on his feet. However, it was a loss when Grodd put one of his heavy foot over Barry.

"You need to let him go, Grodd!" Caitlin's voice managed to draw the gorilla's attention for a moment. She was standing in a precise location - a spray-painted white circle.

"Flash is my enemy. Now you, too," Grodd declared, but Caitlin didn't falter.

"No. He was trying to save me from you. We didn't understand what you wanted, but now we do. I can give you what you want. I can give you a home. You just have to trust me."

Grodd lifted his foot off Barry and started coming at Caitlin. As soon as he was within the circle, Cisco activated the breech and Barry sped Caitlin out of the circle. Grodd was somewhat trapped by the breeches' force but there wasn't enough strength to snatch him entirely.

"Guys, what's going on with that full power switch?" Belén called to Cisco and Harry. "Two smart guys didn't think to invent that?"

"Uh, I'll have you know it _is_ at full power," came Cisco's indignant response.

Henry took the microphone again. "Barry, you can't let Grodd get free. Conquer your fears, son. Believe in yourself."

"Did I mention I'm like really glad you're here?" Belén looked up at the man. Henry smiled back at the woman.

Barry had performed his famous sonic punch which was enough to push Grodd into the breech and leave him trapped on Earth 2 for the time being.

~ 0 ~

After everything, the Reverse Flash's suit remained intact and literally standing on its own inside the cortex.

"That is just creepy," Belén said from the main desk, preferring to be far away from said yellow suit. "Make it go away." At the same moment she spoke, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Silently, she took it out to see a text.

"Before we do anything, maybe we can see how to get it back in the ring first," Barry dropped the old ring of their Wells into Cisco's palm. It would be a very useful thing to learn that trick. "Might be nice to have something like that instead of carrying around a bag all the time."

"I can help you with that," Harry raised a finger and immediately got all the looks from the group. "What? I know a thing or two about micro-technology."

Cisco shook his head. "Yeah, you know a thing or two about a lot of things."

Henry moved up the man in question, looking truly grateful. "Well, as long as what he knows keeps my son and these good people safe, the more you know, the better. Pleasure to meet you, Harrison. Again."

Harry shook hands with him. "Dr. Allen."

"Good to see you," Henry then said to Caitlin and Cisco.

"Let's go," Barry motioned to his father to lead the way out. On his way, he stopped by Belén to see if she was ready as well.

"Hm?" Belén quickly lowered her phone, an action that Barry didn't miss.

"You said you would come to lunch," Barry reminded, eyeing her phone suspiciously. "Are you okay?"

Belén nodded her head and put her phone away. Her mother was really a relentless woman. "Yes, of course. Lunch, then?" she pointed and started walking as well.

~ 0 ~

After making sure her phone was completely _off_ , Belén allowed herself to enjoy a nice lunch in the West residence along with Barry and his father. She even became more upbeat when Iris got sly and whipped out old albums of young Barry Allen throughout his years.

Henry had himself a good laugh after picking up a picture of a pre-teen Barry with some sort of experiment behind him. "Oh, this one is definitely a keeper!"

"Oh my God, what is that?" Belén tried making out said experiment and fully failed.

"Oh, yeah," Joe laughed as the memory came back to him. "He could've done your standard vinegar and baking soda volcano, but _no_ , Barry wanted to do a molecular structure of chocolate and nougat."

"What the hell is that?" Belén shot Barry a weird look.

"My favorite candy bar, that's what," Barry responded. "Make a mental note of that, okay?"

But Belén only made a face that had Iris laughing. "How you manage to keep me I have no idea," Belén promptly said then reached for another album nearby.

Iris _needed_ to laugh louder.

"Honestly, who does this stuff?"

"Why, a true science nerd," Henry added on, making both women laugh. "Like father, like son, I suppose."

"You mean it's heritable?" Iris nudged Belén on the side. "I feel for your kids."

While the idea had both Belén and Barry sporting blush faces, Belén still had courage for a loud scoff. "My kids will be adorable."

"What - hey!" came Barry's fully offended input.

"They are," Belén gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Because they're my kids."

Barry thought about it for a second and started to smile. "Yeah, if they're yours then they would be."

Belén smiled and passed another page of the album before suddenly gasping. "Oh! Do you know what you haven't seen yet?" she looked at Henry. "Your son is actually really good at karaoke singing!"

It took less than a second for Barry to become terrified.

Henry laughed at the idea. "Is he now?"

"Yes! Oh my God, I have the video if you want to see it!" Belén started reaching for her purse when Barry lunged for said purse and stuffed it behind his back.

"Dad, I think it's time to go," he then said promptly.

"Yeah," Henry agreed through his second laugh. "Joe, can I have…?" he raised the picture he'd kept of Barry's middle school experiment.

"Yeah," Joe of course agreed.

"Thanks," Henry got up and began to say his goodbyes. "Iris, thank you so much for reaching out to me. I am so glad you did."

Belén's upbeatness temporarily faded as she remembered how it had been Iris who'd done the right thing and call Henry in. Belén blamed herself for not being more attentive, but she would never hold it against Iris.

"Me, too," Iris smiled.

"Joe, there are no words, man. Thanks," Henry gave a hug to Joe right after Iris. "And Belén, really nice seeing you again."

"You should come by more often," Belén moved up and gave him a hug. "Then I could show you the video," she whispered.

"Belén!" Barry exclaimed.

"In secret," Belén added and sent a smirk towards her boyfriend.

"Bells," Barry handed Belén her purse back, now serious, "Mind if I stop by your place tonight after I catch up with some of my work?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Belén agreed though wondered if it was really for the best. There were so many things going on with her she doubted if she would be able to keep it all in for another night.

"Great, I'll see you later, then," Barry gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and got going with his father.

"I have to go too," Belén slung her purse over her arm and helped stock the albums on the coffee table. "Need to have a talk with a mom."

"Still having problems, then?" Iris asked, and with a sigh Belén gave a nod.

"I have to figure something out or else she's going to keep sticking her nose in things and figure out secrets. Which reminds me," Belén turned to Joe, "she keeps looking into cases that you and Barry have had a handle on."

"By those I assume you mean metahuman cases?"

"Yeah. She's convinced there's something fishy about them. She's gone as far as getting Patty involved."

"Is that why she's so jumpy?" Joe chuckled.

"Working for Veronica Green does that to you," Belén shook her head.

"She can look into the cases all she wants but she's not going to find anything wrong with that. I promise," Joe raised a hand.

"I've no doubt about that, but thank you for telling me," Belén gave a warm smile to the two and took her leave.

~ 0 ~

As Barry had promised, he stopped by Belén's apartment later that night. She was already dressed in her pajamas, in case she fell asleep somewhere that wasn't her bed.

"You look extra tired," Barry had to remark once he got a good look at her.

"I feel like it," she shrugged and let herself drop onto the couch. "So many things..."

"I know," Barry took a seat next to her. "Joe told me about your Mom? Is she really that suspicious about our meta cases?"

"That and pretty much everything else," Belén sighed and brought a hand to rub her forehead. "My head's spinning and it's not leaving room for anything else. That's why it had to be Iris who thought to bring in your father. I was too busy and forgetful that Iris needed to fulfill my duties of your girlfriend."

Had it been any other moment, Barry would have laughed at that logic. Seeing Belén was truly upset thinking she somehow messed up, he knew he needed to deal with this delicately. "You can't always ignore your issues and your necessities."

Belén nodded her head to show she was understanding his points, but her face scrunched up with clear guilt. "But I love you, and I always want to be the one that helps you."

"I know that - believe me, I _know_ know," Barry cupped her face. "But you should never have to feel like your things come after mine. Talk to me. Tell me what's going on in your life and let _me_ me try to help you like you want to help me."

"She's my mom, _I_ should be able to handle her," Belén shook her head and pushed Barry's hands off her face. "But it's difficult when she doesn't understand you. She wants to know things about me that I can't share."

"You know, if it's about...the Azalea...you _can_ can tell her," Barry wanted to make sure that Belén didn't feel like she needed to hide all about STAR labs from her mother. He knew well how that made people feel, as well as how it ended when the person figured things out. "You can tell her about you, about STAR Labs, about me, anything."

"Thank you," Belén said first then sighed. "But I'm not sure I can. I'm just not sure how she'd take it."

"Okay, but in the meantime, what do you want to do? She's not going to stop asking questions…"

"I know…" Belén trailed off, hoping to come up with a solution to all her problems right there and then. "But I don't know," she croaked her last words before her emotions caught up with her. "I don't know anything except that I feel like I'm drowning."

"It's okay," Barry had pulled her into a hug. "We'll figure it out, I promise." Belén nodded but kept her head buried in his chest. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed her hair. "Let's get you some sleep tonight and then...we'll start working on it." He knew that a full rest would definitely help bring up Belén's spirits.

It was a start.

~ 0 ~

Datura brought to life one of the small devices she'd taken from Mercury Labs. It sparkled white that could blind one if used properly. But, this time, Datura wasn't looking to kill. That wasn't the purpose her newest idea.

"You should have seen it," Poison Ivy sat at the edge of a rusty table. "They went up against one of those sentient gorillas."

Datura rolled her eyes. "They have those here too? Annoying. How'd Belén do?"

"Don't know. She didn't fight," Poison Ivy smirked when Datura stopped working to look back. "Yeah, she wasn't there."

"Hmm, maybe my game is working faster than I thought," Datura smiled to herself. "I can play some good mind games and she probably already knows it. Though the poor idiot probably doesn't even understand _why_ I can play these games so easily with herself."

"If she has half a brain then she must already suspect," Poison Ivy's remark didn't affect Datura in the least.

"Please, she'd never guess," Datura took in a deep breath and pulled her hair behind her shoulders. She took off her mask and chucked it to the side. "Now come help me finish this damn thing already. I want it done as soon as possible."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm going to be honest, I don't like Grodd nor his episodes which is probably why I skipped so much of that content. I'm not even sorry xD.

And I'm super excited for the next chapter because it's the Flarrow episodes and it includes a new Arrowverse OC I'm working on! Hope you guys like her!


	9. A Legend

**Author's Note: This chapter introduces a new Arrowverse OC I'm currently writing for. While she takes the name of a known canon villain, she will not be the same villain. She'll be more of a descendant.**

* * *

A bright white and blue light appeared out of thin air in the middle of the woods, close to Central City. From it emerged a slim female figure. A metal device strapped to her wrist beeped with the same color of the portal. The woman aimed her wrist, that held the device, at the portal. It emitted a white light that seemed to the suck the portal right in. She started walking down the woods, her figure partially covered by the mist in the air.

"What's my location?" her English voice inquired.

' _About twenty miles off Central City, Miss Haynez_ ," a computerized voice from the wrist-device answered.

"And the date?"

" _November 17, 2017._ "

"Excellent," the woman grinned and walked even faster.

~ 0 ~

Joe and Patty stood on both sides of Barry, all three staring at the gruesome pictures of their newest case. Barry had already snapped the needed evidence pictures to bring back and examine, while also swiping any physical evidence pieces he could find. They'd found various corpses down at a dock with no surviving witness to the attack. But the blood spilled was...was on a whole other level.

"Man, this was a bloodbath," Joe said, truly surprised by what they were seeing. No metahuman had yet to be so violent.

"Done by one person," Barry put down the picture he held, setting it next to the other pictures on the desk.

" _One_ person did all this?" Patty quickly took another look at the pictures.

"Oh, yeah, you can see from the blood pattern," Barry tapped a finger over one picture, "This guy was shot first-" he moved his finger to the next picture, "-then the police chief, then these three were stabbed before finishing off the captain."

Patty knew she would never cease to be surprised. "Wow. Do you think a meta-human did it?"

"I don't know, but I found this in all of the stab victims' wounds," Barry picked up a small plastic bag with a piece of a golden knife. "It's some type of cryptocrystalline... Flint, most likely... Probably broke off the blade during the fight. I'll run it to make sure."

"Let's see what stores sell those kind of flint knives," Joe said to Patty and started heading out.

"Will do," Patty followed him. However, just at the threshold, she forced herself to stop and turned sideways. "Uh, Barry, do you know...if...if Belén is okay?" As Barry looked her way, Patty stepped back into the lab, looking pretty nervous. "It's just, the last time I spoke to her...it was about her Mom and...I haven't really spoken to her anymore, so...do you know if she's upset with me?" But even as Barry opened his mouth to assure it had nothing to do with her, Patty rambled on. "Because I really didn't want to cause problems." She just grew tired of Veronica always being on her case about all these mysterious cases handled by Joe and Barry. And to be honest, Patty didn't really see anything wrong with those cases. Joe and Barry had done what they could with those cases since they were all pretty much finished by the Flash and his team. What else could they, the regular ones, do?

"She's fine, Patty, and definitely not mad at you," Barry finally got a word in. Patty, relieved, began to smile. "She's just having problems with her Mom but it's between them I promise."

"Okay," Patty nodded, slowly convincing herself that Barry was telling the truth. "I wanted to make sure, sorry."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell her you're worried," Barry smiled, actually touched that Patty felt this need to make sure their friendship was intact.

"Okay, thanks," Patty sheepishly smiled and finally went on her way.

As soon as she was gone, Barry released a breath and turned back to his work. He felt a bit sorry for Patty that she had to go through all this as an innocent bystander in the crossovers of Belén and her mother. He, himself, wasn't feeling all that well about it. He had to help Belén with her problems as well as be there to comfort her, and he had to take having her mother all around his workplace. Veronica Green was turning out to be a right nuisance but Barry would never say that out loud. He was trying to make himself understand that Veronica was trying to be a mother and care for her daughter...even if it did annoy the hell out of him sometimes.

~0~

Later that day, Barry had gone to STAR Labs to continue training with the help of Harry, and today Caitlin. While he ran on his special treadmill, Harry and Caitlin monitored his readings.

"He just hit 1,375," Caitlin read off the screens and looked at Harry, seeing he wasn't at all impressed.

"What's the fastest Barry's run?"

"Little over Mach two, when he ran back in time."

Harry remained unimpressed. "That's not good." He pushed the inter comm. button. "That's good, Barry." Caitlin shot him a look, not at all agreeing to lie. "We have our work cut out for us."

Barry came into the monitoring room, out of breath. "I'm not getting faster, am I?"

Caitlin awkwardly glanced at Harry for some help to be gentle. "Well…"

"No, you're not," Harry flatly said. Caitlin shut her eyes and inwardly sighed.

Barry did his best not to look so upset. "Alright, well, let's fix this, right? I mean, I can't beat Zoom at this speed. It felt like I was standing still next to him."

Before Caitlin could give him some words of reassurance, Harry coldly agreed. "That's because you practically were. Zoom is at least three, four times faster than you at this point."

Caitlin sighed. "How is he so much faster than Barry is and Jay was?"

"Physiology, form, strength, could be a number of things…" Harry paused and gave Barry a sharp study. "Attitude, diet."

Barry rolled his eyes. "Okay, all right, well, there's gotta be something we can do about it, so let's just figure it out... fast, okay?"

"We will," Caitlin nodded.

"Okay," Barry leaned off the threshold. "Where's Bells? She said she was coming here earlier."

"Off training with Cisco," Caitlin replied.

"Off also not doing as well, I should mention," Harry muttered, turning to the readings beside them.

Barry glared. He could take any criticism against _him_ but not about Belén. "She is doing her best, okay?"

"Her 'best' won't be okay when she's up against a siphoner and probably Poison Ivy."

"Let's not focus on that right now," Caitlin told the two before they started going back and forth in an argument. "Barry, Cisco has a date tonight so I doubt he and Belén will be practicing late."

"Thanks, Cait," Barry gave her a polite nod and went off without sparing a look at Harry.

~0~

"Ye-ha-ha!" Cisco punched the air after Belén managed to strike down three of his practice targets.

Belén's skin faded from its green shade, and as she released a breath, she returned to her normal self. With a grin on her face, she turned to where Cisco monitored her. "I got it?"

"Girl, you _got_ it!" Cisco laughed.

Belén glanced at the targets that were completely mangled with her vines. This was the first real session that worked in her favor and she could not be happier. She just tried to forget the fact these were targets and not the actual Datura. "Again?" she anxiously asked.

Cisco's excitement faded momentarily. "Well, uh, actually…"

Belén tilted her head and stared at her friend. "Cisco, you got plans?" she remembered he was still dating that barista and made her own conclusions. "Is there a date I'm butting into?"

Cisco pursed his lips. "I, n-no, not...not butting...no…"

Belén laughed and started walking towards him. "So butting in. I'm not going to ruin your date with the-" she cleared her throat and mimicked his voice, "-lovely Kendra Saunders."

Cisco mockingly glared at her. "Not funny!"

"Yeah, so funny actually," Belén had herself a good laugh.

Cisco raised an eyebrow, and thought of the quickest way to get her back. "Alright then, Mrs. Allen, you want a lift back home?"

And Belén's laughter ceased to exist. Her face went utterly red.

Cisco victoriously smirked.

~0~

When Cisco finished his round of laughter, he finally took Belén home in order to make it in time to his own date. Belén wearily made her way up to her own apartment. She unlocked her door and stepped inside, only to be surprised by finding Barry already there.

"So, since it's been a long while, and I figured you're tired, movie date-night?" Barry gestured to the various snacks set on her coffee table and to the television already turned on.

Belén started smiling and walking towards him. "You're the best boyfriend _ever._ " She slung her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I like to think I am," Barry chuckled alongside her. He kissed her temple and sat them down on the couch.

"Making you a second key was the best thing I ever did," Belén reached for a box of licorice while Barry picked a movie for them.

"Yeah, I heard you went training with Cisco so I thought a nice relaxing night was something you would like," Barry shrugged. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"I think we _both_ needed it," Belén hummed. She rested her head on his chest and smiled when she remembered her gain earlier. "I took down some particularly hard targets."

"That's great!" Barry shifted a bit on his side to meet Belén's happy face.

"Now if I can do that with Datura I'll be golden," Belén drew in a deep breath. Datura had been gone for a few days now, as well as Zoom, and while she tried to be happy about it she couldn't help feel like Datura was up to something. She would return with something worse for them.

"We'll find a way," Barry pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You want to pick a movie?"

"Uh, how about my favorite musical? Mamma Mia?"

Barry pretended to groan. "We've watched that like 50 times already!"

"So the 51st shouldn't be so hard anymore," Belén grinned innocently. "Promise to give you kisses throughout the movie?"

Barry pretended to think about the deal. "You mean it?"

Belén rolled her eyes at him. "Sure."

"No, but you gotta say it like you mean it!"

Belén grabbed him by the collars of his shirt and kissed him for a good minute. "How's that for meaning it?"

Barry's face was so dazed, just like his mind. She started laughing at him which pulled him out of his trance. "That's not funny!"

"It is from my end!"

"Belén would you-" But Barry was cut off at the sound of both his and Belén's phones going off at the same time.

"So much for movie night," Belén fished her phone out of her jean's pocket. "Huh, it's Cisco."

"He's in trouble," Barry realized. "I thought he was on a date but..."

"We need to go!" Belén exclaimed as she got up from the couch. Though she grabbed some licorice on their way out.

~ 0 ~

Jitters at night time had never looked as bad as it did to Cisco right now. Kendra had tried to create a perfect date for them by cooking dinner for them and having a movie ready to go over the rooftop. Everything would've been dandy had it not been for the strange man with a long beard and a long coat who decided to stop by.

Vandal Savage was not a patient man. What he wanted he got, and Kendra Saunders would not be the exception. He chucked forwards a silver weapon but missed as Cisco and his date, Kendra, jumped to the sides. Barry sped in with Belén and while the former attempted to punch Savage directly, Savage semeed to be ready for it.

Belén, on the other hand, went to Cisco and Kendra and helped them get up. "Who the hell is that guy?"

"I wish I knew!" Cisco said with the biggest scowl on his face. "He's ruining our date!"

Belén looked back when she heard Barry's body crash over a table. "I think your date is the least of our problems right now!" Belén struck a vine forwards to pay Savage with the same coin. It struck him to the side and as she was charging for him, a wave of purple energy came bursting through the door and, as simple as it sounded, it made Belén slip on the floor.

Savage thought it was his lucky moment as he pulled himself off the floor. "Pathetic," he spat first then attempted to continue with his own attack.

However, a woman appeared at the entrance with the most visible hatred on her face. "There you are," she, too, spatted but at Savage only.

Savage turned around, surprised someone would speak to him in that familiarity since he had never seen the woman in his life. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter," the woman briefly made eye contact with the others in the room. "If everything goes well you'll never know my name." She started smirking for some reason, but she decided to let Savage in on her secret. She pointed up to the ceiling. Savage followed her gaze and missed the light purple energy beam emit from the her fingertip. It hit the curtains above them and caused the poles sustaining it to creak and come collapsing down.

"Hey!" Barry sped towards them and pushed them out into the roadside.

"NOOO!" the woman screeched as her body tumbled against a mailbox. She shook her head and the pain from her fall to see where Savage had landed. It had been too late, though, because he was gone. "NO!" she screamed frantically and got up from the ground. "I had him!"

"You know him?" Barry called from his spot, eyeing the woman suspiciously. He only looked away to see Belén, Cisco and Kendra running out from Jitters to see where they landed.

The mysterious woman rose from the ground and blew on the hair in front of her face. Her light brown hair that was just above her shoulders framed her youthful face. Her eyes were dark and fierce, and _very_ angry, though Barry realized it wasn't geared towards him.

 _Thank God because she's scary_ , he thought.

She wore a purple and black leather outfit that started off with a sleeveless, purple crop-shirt that had a small v-neck style. There was a bit of a black outline defining the v-neck style. Though, the crop shirt seemed to be connected at the armpits to a black, short-sleeved coat. Said coat covered the sides of her stomach, remaining permanently opened, and formed a long, twisted tail behind her. She wore knee-length, black boots over dark purple pants. And to finish it off, she had a dark, purple choker around her neck.

"I know him enough," the woman dusted herself off. She looked him over with great interest, then glanced at Belén to do the same. Her lips curled into a smile once she recognized them. "And I know you two - I read about you. History's even better when you see it with your own eyes."

"Who the hell are you?" Belén went straight for the question. She had enough with mysterious metas coming into their city to terrorize their people. "And do you know that man?"

The woman seemed to debate whether or not she should disclose her identity, but after a minute she gave a small nod. "You can call me...Jinx. And that man? It doesn't matter because I'm going to find him and kill him before he hurts anyone else. So, for everyone's sake, best stay out of my way, Azalea, Flash. I don't mean this city harm except for that man," Jinx warned and stepped forwards. "He's _mine_."

Jinx swung an arm forwards and shot purple beams again that forced the fire hydrant near Barry to shoot a violent gush of water directly at him and the others. It was how she made her escape.

~ 0 ~

The next day, everyone reported to STAR Labs to discuss what Belén, Barry, Cisco (and Kendra) dealt with. It also revealed that Cisco had, rather stupidly, revealed to Kendra that Barry was the Flash. Both Harry and Joe were still giving Cisco disapproving stares.

"I can't believe you're The Flash," Kendra could not stop saying, then glancing to Cisco, "And that you work with The Flash."

Cisco chuckled but was of course still hitting himself for his imprudence. "Yeah, let's keep that on the DL."

"And you're the Azalea," Kendra pointed at Belén with the same awe.

"You are so incredibly stupid my friend," Belén patted Cisco's arm and shook her head.

"Agreed," went Harry under his breath but still received a sharp glance from Cisco.

"Alright, so what exactly happened?" Caitlin asked the group in question.

"There was an mass homicide at the docks two nights ago and it left behind a scrap of knife that I analyzed," Barry pointed to the gold knife laying on the table. "It's the same knife used to kill the men at the docks. Residue is a perfect match."

"So it is the same guy," Joe noted.

"Definitely. But the thing is, these blades are old, _centuries_ old."

"He nicked it off some museum then," Belén theorized.

"Do you have any idea why this guy would be after you?" Iris decided to question Kendra on anything that could help them.

"No, I've never seen him before in my life," Kendra swore to them all.

"Lots of these metahumans often don't have reasons to go after a person," Caitlin reminded, and everyone missed Barry's unsure expression.

"Well, he was certainly acting like he knew you," Cisco looked at Kendra. "He kept calling her Priestess Chay-Ara."

"That's Coptic," Harry pointed.

"In English, please?" Belén motioned for the translation.

"He means Egyptian," Caitlin said, though she herself still seemed a bit unsure.

"You know, that woman - Jinx - she was talking in a way like...like she knew about timelines," Barry remembered the strange woman. "Like you say-" he said to Cisco, "-that the guy was talking to you two."

"You think they're connected?" Caitlin asked.

"I can't be sure but she definitely wants him dead," Barry nodded.

"Iris and I were doing research on her and check out what we found," Belén moved over to the computers with Iris. "I mean, at first all we came across when we typed in 'Jinx' were these weirdos on the internet."

"Not surprising," Joe said on the side.

"But we had to figure out what she was," Iris continued, "Is she a metahuman? What can she do?"

"Oh c'mon," Cisco interrupted them, almost rolling his eyes, "The woman named herself _Jinx_ \- what does that tell you? She's bad luck, people!"

The others had to agree on the powers of the stranger.

"Killer name," Cisco had to add.

"But it's deeper than that," Belén started bringing up different headlines from different times, along with different pictures of women. "We didn't find one single picture of our mystery Jinx, but we found boatloads of other women from previous years with the same name."

Barry stepped forwards to get a better look at the different pictures. "They're all named Jinx?"

"Jinx, the Jinx, it's the same name really but they're all from different areas," Iris pointed out. "They're mostly grouped in America and England, though."

"Well, our Jinx had an English accent so we should focus on England," Barry said.

"But even then," Belén pulled down the tabs that weren't dealing with the English Jinxes, "None of them relate to ours. They have no similar appearances, but they do have one thing in common: they're all well known criminals in their times."

"And bad ones," Iris added to make sure they understood they were not dealing with their regular metas. "They have some wicked crimes under their names."

"Were any of them ever brought in?" asked Cisco, now feeling like he had to swallow down a ball in his throat.

"No," went the two reporters together.

"An interesting thing is that each Jinx seemed to disappear in their older years," Belén started going through some of the profiles for show, "1940s London Jinx disappeared when she was around 50. 1990s Bristol Jinx disappeared around her 60s. Before 1940, we had another Jinx in Cambridge who disappeared in her 60s."

"It's like they retiring or something," Kendra said as a light-hearted joke, but her words rang truth for some of the others.

"It could be like a mantle passing down generations," Caitlin theorized as she walked up to stand beside Barry in front of the screen on the wall. "Each Jinx has their daughter, or a niece, and once that daughter or niece becomes ready they take the place of the elder Jinx."

"That's great but how does this help us right now?" asked Joe.

"It lets us know that we're dealing with someone who knows her way around a fight," Belén crossed her arms. "If I had to say, she's had some good training based on these previous Jinxes. Our Jinx may be the current one and she's just getting started. She's a criminal and we have to bring her down too. But to find her, I'm guessing we need to find this man first. So," she turned around and looked directly at Kendra, "Why does this man have it out for you."

Kendra was startled with the implication that she would know why she was being targeted. "I...I don't know. I don't know either of them."

"This guy, he's clearly incredibly dangerous as well as Jinx, so I need you to at least let us try to protect you," Barry said, hoping she would listen to them on the first try. Thankfully, Kendra agreed.

"I can put a detail on her," Joe offered.

Cisco shook his head. "You didn't see this guy, Joe. No offense, but I don't think a cop is going to be able to protect her."

"To be fair, they are getting better with metahumans," Belén meant to be kind but even Barry agreed the police weren't up for this sort of task.

"We're going to need some friends' help...in Star City."

Belén gaped, as did everyone else who understood what Barry meant.

~ 0 ~

A short moment after giving a brief description of their plan, Belén and Cisco went after Barry to try and discuss the matter.

"What could possibly be that bad that we need to leave the city?" Belén asked that while staring at both men, knowing there was something one of them wasn't explaining. "Scratch that-" she made a motion with her hands, "-what's so bad that you want to go to Oliver for help?"

"I mean, she's sort of right…" Cisco swayed his head, giving Belén a clear understanding that Cisco was just as lost as she was. "We've fought meta-humans with abilities a lot worse than knife-throwing."

"I don't think this guy's a meta-human. There's something different about him…" Barry thought for the right word, "...something, ah, mystical. Even Jinx seems kind of _off_."

Belén and Cisco exchanged unimpressed glances.

"Mystical, really?" Cisco repeated.

"We stop meta-humans because we're scientists. We can figure out what their weaknesses are, but we don't have any experience when it comes to guys like this, with magic. They do."

"Are you sure Oliver is going to want to help us, though?" Belén raised an eyebrow.

"He'd probably be more inclined if a certain pretty girl asked nicely," Barry sent her a cheeky smile.

"Sure, let me get Felicity on the line," Belén crossed her arms.

"That could help too!"

Belén groaned. "On one condition."

"Which would be…?"

"I want to come too."

It was easy to tell Barry wasn't exactly liking that idea. "I - this guy is dangerous, Bells. He's not even a metahuman and it scares me!"

"You're forgetting that when I was training with Oliver I had my fair share of non-metahuman ass to kick," Belén continued with arms crossed and a straight face. "What else you got?"

Barry looked at Cisco for some help. Cisco quickly put his hands up, deciding this was not his argument. "I'm just going to go tell Kendra when we leave…" he made up fast and rushed away.

"Well, what excuse you do you have for me?" Belén challenged rather smoothly.

Barry racked his mind for the kindest, gentlest, way to make her see his logic. "Your Mom, Sherlock-cop, is behind you like a hawk. What do you think she's going to do if you leave the city all of a sudden?"

Belén faltered with that idea planted in her head. "Well, I...I don't…"

"You haven't decided if you want to tell her anything about all this-" Barry made a gesture to the place, "-and I think if you leave and all of a sudden there's sightings of the Azalea in Star City where she'll inevitably know you went to...don't you think she might put two and two?"

Belén thought about it with the time and effort the matter deserved and ultimately knew that Barry was right. "I hate dating a scientist sometimes."

"No you don't," Barry chuckled.

"I really do - sometimes I just wanna hit you with your stupid books!"

"You're just cranky and I'll let all those comments go," Barry pulled her into a hug, ignoring her muffled 'I'm not cranky' as he held her tightly.

~ 0 ~

Patty was once more looking over the evidence left behind by Barry on their bloodbath homicide case. She no longer felt surprised having Veronica constantly peer over her shoulders to observe the case as well.

"You could just take a seat, you know," Patty went ahead and handed one of the pictures to Veronica.

This time, Veronica made no snappy response. She merely took the picture and studied it. Patty looked up to see the older woman's blank face. It didn't appear Veronica was even examining the picture in her hand.

Although she felt awkward asking, Patty forced herself to be just polite and talk. "Is everything alright?"

Veronica seemed to snap out of her trance and put the picture down on Patty's desk. "Yes, of course. Um, so are there any leads on that knife bit yet?"

"No, not yet, it's in the process…" Patty answered the question out of professionalism but couldn't stop the conversation there, not when she was sure that it had to do with Belén. "Detective Green, are you sure there isn't anything wrong?"

Veronica gave Patty a long look before shaking her head and leaving the office room. On her way out, she bumped into Joe, and she called it her streak of unluckiness for that day. "I'm sorry," she gave a polite apology then hastily tried getting away.

"Detective?" Joe turned after her. "Are you alright?"

Veronica groaned but came to a halt and turned sideways. "I could do without your fake care, Joe. We all know you and your adoptive son are praying for me to get the hell out of this place."

Joe was not expecting that type of hostility against him personally, maybe a little for Barry. "Uh, it's _not_ fake, and I would appreciate if you left Barry out of your problems with your daughter." Veronica, raising an eyebrow, slowly turned around. "It can't be easy to try and rebuild a relationship with your estranged daughter but Barry has only ever tried to make your daughter happy."

Veronica looked around, probably reminding herself that they were not alone to make a spectacle. She came back to Joe, speaking lowly between them. "I don't deny that he is. Truth be told, he seemed like a very a nice young man the times I have been with him an Belén. That, however, does not excuse all the sketchy cases done between you and him and those metahumans. It does not excuse the fact that I know he and Belén are hiding something from me - something that you know about as well. Now I think knowing all this, and putting yourself in my perspective, you would understand my reasons to have a little dislike towards your son."

At that, Joe could not and would not argue. He remembered when he first found out that Barry had begun making rounds in the city trying to be a hero. He felt a deep pit of terror in his stomach, and a big case of helplessness. In the end, a parent - no matter if it's biological or adoptive - only wanted their children to be safe. Veronica, at the moment, could not fulfill that desire because Belén had not told her the truth.

"If you'll excuse me, Detective, I need to go work on our latest case," Veronica spoke in her regular tone and walked away.

~ 0 ~

"So they're just gone, then?" Iris stood beside Belén at the latter's desk, both holding cups of coffees. Iris was still in the dark about Oliver Queen's vigilante's side and therefore only knew Barry was going to the Arrow in the next city.

Belén gave a small nod. "Mhm. I wanted to go but Barry pulled out his logical crap that I usually lose at, so…"

Iris smiled teasingly. "Been there so many times. It's annoying, actually."

"You're telling me. Now here I am, doing my work," Belén motioned to her computer where a half-written article was.

"And that-" said a new, female voice, "-is never something to be so glum about."

Belén quickly leaned forwards on her chair, just as Iris turned to the side and giving Belén a clear view of CC Pictures' visitor. "Laurel?" a great smile spread across Belén's face as she got up.

Laurel Lance stood tall and cheery at the doorway, happy to see her lifelong friend.

"What are you doing here?" Belén put down her cup on her desk and went to greet Laurel.

"I am visiting my mother and I thought why not stop by to visit my friend?" Laurel gave Belén a hug and whispered, "And to talk about the Azalea."

Belén pulled away with a chuckle. "It's okay, Laurel, she knows," she made a gesture back to Iris. "Laurel, this is Iris West. She's my co-worker and almost sister."

"Laurel Lance," Laurel shook hands with Iris. "Childhood friend."

"Ah, so then you have some embarrassing stories I could slip through to Barry," Iris sent Belén a teasing smile. "He gets on my nerves complaining about your teases."

"Not my fault he's a dork."

"Watch it," Iris pointed, but of course teased too.

"This is a new article, then?" Laurel peered down at Belén's computer.

"Still working on it."

"Nice," Laurel took a seat in Belén's chair then knowingly smiled at the two women. "I stopped by to see if my friend wanted to go out to lunch?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I already made..." Belén was looking at Iris who was now shaking her head.

"You're good, Bells, just go," Iris smiled. "But hey, maybe we can all have dinner tonight?"

"Works with me," Laurel looked at Belén.

"Same. It might even be good to get Caitlin," Belén added. "Poor thing's been working hard with Harry lately."

"Harry?" Laurel gave a questioning face.

"I'll explain," Belén promised and went to gather her things.

~ 0 ~

As Laurel and Belén walked down the street towards Jitters for their lunch, Belén caught Laurel up with the latest in Central City - well the bits Laurel wasn't aware of. Of course the news of a new speedster terrorizing the city had made it into StarCity's newscasts several times, especially when Zoom confronted the Flash.

"You'd think there being multiple dimensions would freak me out…" Laurel raised her head, processing everything she'd heard with great calmness, "...but no."

"Quite the lives we live, huh?" Belén smiled to herself. "While it can be dazzling and happy...it's got some terrible drawbacks."

"Yeah, but...would you give it up?"

Belén right away shook her head. "Never. It's how I met my friends...it's how Barry and I got together. I'd keep it just the way it is no matter how bad things get." Laurel chuckled.

Jitters wasn't as packed as one would think it would be during lunch hour. Laurel and Belén took a seat at one of the empty tables after ordering.

"So then, are we going to talk about this whole Azalea thing?" it was easy to tell this was the topic that drew Laurel to find Belén again. "I mean, last time we talked, you were pretty hell bent on making sure the Azalea stayed dead."

"To be fair, the last time we spoke I felt like my life was over," Belén countered. "My brother had just died, my sister was sent to prison, two of my friends died, my boyfriend broke up with me...and I had gained custody of Axel." The entire memories made Belén stop to take a breather. "I was not at a good place then."

"But now you are," Laurel noticed with a genuine delight.

"I went to therapy," Belén admitted. "Actually, I still go. It's less but Dr. Baeva says that's a good thing."

"And you felt good enough to bring back the Azalea?"

"Yeah," Belén nodded her head, her eyes flickering to the side. "I thought the Azalea should stay dead so that I could move on, but...I don't want to do that. I don't think I could ever do that. Just like you fight to be the Black Canary, I fight to be the Azalea."

Laurel was so proud to hear her friend talk like this after so much despondence. "Exactly!"

"Unfortunately, it also resonates from the fact there's this psycho metahuman from Earth 2 trying to kill me."

"That's this Datura woman, right? I read about her too."

"Yeah. According to E-2 Dr. Wells, Datura has siphoning powers along with being one of the most poisonous metahumans on his earth."

"Now wait a minute, she siphons AND and she has powers based on this poisonous plant?"

"Yeah. Though sometimes I wonder how that works, because…" Belén trailed off, still thinking, "...Harry says that, back on his world, there were rumors about Datura...not being all the way there," Belén tapped the side of her head. "She would disappear for weeks and then resurface with new powers. At the same time, there were series of murder sprees where the cops would find corpses of metas possessing similar plant powers like Datura."

"Do you think Datura could've been looking for something in those metas?"

"That's our theory, and it's my theory that I have what she's looking for," Belén sighed, "I just don't know what it is. So, in the meantime, she's here...terrorizing my city, beating the crap out of me."

"Well, you gotta look at this from a different perspective," Laurel got to thinking for a moment. "You say she's a siphoner but...she calls herself Datura? Why? That's just one flower, one power she possesses, right?"

"I've thought about that too," Belén admitted. "Believe me, I've gone crazy thinking of her and her powers."

"So, what have you come up with?"

"Well, I theorize that the datura power could be either the first power she siphoned and thus became her baseline of all powers, or…" Belén stopped all of a sudden.

"Or?"

"Or they could be something of importance to her. Not physical importance but _emotional_."

"Why would she name herself after only one power when she's a siphoner?" Laurel smirked as now Belén was getting somewhere with her thoughts.

"Emotional importance," Belén answered, far more sure now that she had spoken her theories out loud. "You name yourself after your powers, after what makes you, _you_. I named myself the Azalea because I love those flowers. Gardening Azaleas and other flowers was my favorite pastime, my way to unwind and just..be me. I doubt Datura did gardening...she had to have named herself Datura for another reason."

"I miss this Belén," Laurel blurted, and the two shared a laugh.

~ 0 ~

Later that day, when her shift was over, Belén stopped by STAR Labs to see how Caitlin was holding up with Harry on her own. She found the two working at the prime desk in the cortex.

"Afternoon," she greeted and only spared the computer screens a brief look, knowing already she wouldn't understand their work. "So what are you scientists working on today?"

"We may have just created a way to help Barry become faster," Caitlin could barely contain her excitement. Harry had no problem.

"Really?" Belén loved hearing that and was sure that Barry would too. "What is it?"

However, before either Caitlin or Harry could explain, Jay had come in. He soon saw the computer screens himself and scowled.

"Velocity-6?" there was a trace of disbelief in his tone which put both Belén and Caitlin off. "This is what was so urgent, Harrison? You get me to come here so I can take your speed drug?"

Harry, on the other hand, remained at ease and simply pointed at Jay for being correct. "That's right."

Jay gave an incredulous look at Caitlin. "You knew about this."

"Of course she did," Harry answered for her. "She figured it out."

"What's the big deal?" Belén cut in. She definitely was not up for another physical fight between the two men.

"I thought this was to help Barry," Caitlin was on the same page as Belén.

"It _is_ to help Barry-" Harry said, "-which is why we need to do test runs on subjects who once had the Speed Force in their system."

Jay was not having this. "The Speed Force doesn't work like that. It's not something you can create in a lab."

"How do you think you became the Flash, Garrick? By me and a lab," Harry reminded, and Belén did have to admit that it rang some truth. That _is_ what their Wells had done to give Barry his powers in the first place. "Science is what did this to you, to Barry, to Zoom, and science is what we need to stop Zoom, and this is our only option."

"Find another one," Jay didn't hesitate to shut down the work, even if it was Caitlin's. "The Speed Force can't be replicated or enhanced. It's a living thing. It's a gift that was given to me. That drug... you have no idea what it's gonna do. I'm not going to let another one of your experiments mess with me again, Harrison. You find someone else to be your guinea pig."

"It's a _drug_?" Belén immediately saw the problem and turned on Harry. "You're giving my Barry a drug?"

"Keep that serum away from Barry," Jay warned her and Caitlin before storming away.

Harry had put on his black jacket and a hat in the meanwhile. Caitlin turned on him too and questioned his plans.

"To pick up what we need!"

"We can't give Barry whatever you're planning on," Belén snapped but the man started heading out.

"We're gonna do what we need," Harry left them with those words.

Caitlin, exasperated plopped down on a chair. She saw Belén's horrific stare after the threshold. "If I knew what it was, I would have never…"

"I know Cait," Belén assured. "I mean...is it wrong, though? It's like...steroids, right? But to make you faster?"

Caitlin nodded. "That's the idea."

"But...but would it have side effects? Like bad ones?"

"Jay seemed pretty sure that it wasn't the right thing…"

"I honestly don't know who to believe anymore. Jay doesn't bother to show up and help and when he does show up it's to shoot down all of our ideas."

Caitlin of course tried to make Jay look better. "I-it can't be easy having to lose your powers, and...you know? I just...we shouldn't be hard on him That's all I'm saying."

Belén smiled knowingly at the brunette. "Right. So listen, I stopped by to ask if you wanted to come to dinner with Laurel, Iris and I."

"Laurel?" Caitlin repeated. "As in Laurel Lance the Black Canary?"

"The one and only," Belén smirked.

"But I thought…"

"She's here alone. She didn't even know Barry and Cisco had gone to meet Oliver. So, you want to come?"

Caitlin looked at the computer screens still showing Velocity-6, then glanced back at the threshold. "I don't know. I think someone should stay here and hold the fort. And by that I mean check to see what Harrison is doing."

Belén thought that was a rational mindset and thought about her own choices. "You know what, I think I should stay too. I wouldn't want you to overwork yourself."

"No, Bells, it's okay. I know you haven't seen Laurel in a long time."

"But I don't want you to stay here all alone…"

"I'll be fine," Caitlin promised. "Go out. I think you deserve some time out."

"Okay, but afterwards I'm coming back here to keep you company. I'll even bring you something," Belén grabbed her purse.

"That would be nice," Caitlin smiled.

~ 0 ~

Setting the dinner date at eight, Belén took her sweet time to get ready. She pulled out a nice white blouse with fitted slacks and some heels. Applying some makeup and doing the hair took about an hour but she was still on time. Just as she was getting ready to leave, someone knocked on her door.

No longer was Belén surprised to see her mother making a visit.

"I'm not going to argue - I don't have time to," Belén snapped before her mother could start shouting. "I have a dinner to get to and then to STAR Labs with Caitlin."

Veronica didn't appear to have the fighting in her, something that even Belén saw right away. "Why STAR Labs?"

"Because Caitlin is there. Anymore questions?" Belén went back to the living room for her purse and phone.

"Honestly, Belén, I don't know why you keep going to that hazardous building. What's the point?"

Belén snorted. "Did you really come by to ask me that?"

Something snapped inside Veronica and she shook her head, straightening herself up. "No, of course not. I came to talk."

"We've done that, countless times," Belén returned with her purse strap hanging around her wrist. "It doesn't work out. Tonight I'd like to skip it."

"If you would just-"

"I have to go," Belén cut her off smoothly and ushered Veronica out the door. "You want to talk tomorrow morning then fine. Tonight I'm not letting you tarnish my mood."

Veronica let her daughter go without another word. It appeared she was really driving that wedge between them, and she feared how far it would go. A ringing from her pocket brought her out from her thoughts. It was a text from work.

~ 0 ~

"No Caitlin?" Iris asked when Belén had joined her and Laurel at the restaurant they'd agreed at.

"No, she and Harry are working," Belén decided to leave out the potentially dangerous serum out of the conversation for the moment.

"I'd love to have seen her," Laurel remarked while taking a look at their menus.

"Maybe tomorrow, then?"

"I guess." Belén honestly made it her life's effort to not show how upset she already was thanks to her mother's surprise visit. Without Barry around, she felt like she truly needed just some friends with her to make her forget how crappy her life was at the moment.

It was nice to forget that she wasn't a metahuman being hunted, and that she was in danger. After all, these were the moments when her life was supposed to be at its best. She'd finished college a long while ago, she snatched herself a good job, even went back to doing what she'd originally wanted to (aerial dancing). Along the way she'd met some really good people who slowly became like her family.

She deserved to remember that part of her life.

~ 0 ~

"So you're telling me that this flint knife is thousands of years old?" Veronica reviewed what Patty had told her just to make sure she wasn't getting anything wrong.

"Yeah, I'm surprised too, believe me," Patty gave a shrug of her shoulders.

The two women were walking down the street, discussing the matters of their bloodbath case. Patty had finally gotten news on the evidence Barry had gotten earlier and now Veronica was looking over the case file.

"But it means it couldn't have been on the market…" Veronica deduced and glanced at Patty.

The blonde hummed in agreement. "We checked and there are no records of it belonging to some set in local museums. We're expanding the search but even then it doesn't really look like it belongs anywhere."

"Except history books," Veronica closed the file and looked up. As soon as she did, she spotted a familiar figure across the street. A man was loading something into the back of a car.

"Are you alright?" Patty stared at the woman for a bit, worried.

Veronica's eyebrows knitted together. "It can't be."

"What…?" Patty meant to follow Veronica's gaze but Veronica quickly ushered Patty to her own car. "Hey! What about that ca-"

"I'm going to look it over for tonight and tomorrow we'll talk again! Goodnight, Patty!" Veronica then made her own mission as she hurried to her own car.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin had been giving Harry disapproving stares ever since he returned to STAR labs on the plan of finishing up the serum for Barry. Despite that, Harry didn't desist.

"We can't use that serum on Barry," Caitlin gave a crinkled-nose glance at the silver gun meant to inject said serum.

"That's up to him, isn't it?" Harry cleverly countered with. Caitlin frowned knowing that, in the end, it really was all Barry's decision whether or not to take the serum. "If Barry wants to stop Zoom, this is what he needs."

"Jay said it could hurt Barry-"

"Well, Jay's a coward," Harry pushed through the serum into the gun with a 'pop!'.

Caitlin huffed, clearly offended on behalf of Jay. "Jay's a scientist who knows a lot about speedsters!"

"You're a scientist, Snow. You've been watching Barry. You know he's nowhere near as fast as he needs to be," Harry snapped, reaching his patience with these people. "This other mentor, this other Harrison Wells, did not want him to reach his full potential... I do."

Caitlin glowered. "You know, you're really starting to sound a lot like him." She didn't want to be anymore of a part of the serum and walked into one of the side rooms, hoping that Harry would gain some sense in the meanwhile.

Harry could care less what Caitlin thought and turned the silver gun over to make sure the serum had been injected right.

"I knew it was _you_ ," Veronica's voice made him stop his work. She had come into the place with a gun in her hands, aimed directly at Wells.

"Who are you?" Harry, of course, had not met the woman before.

"I don't know how you did it, how you managed to survive while my son died, my daughter sent to jail and my youngest so... _lost_ -" Veronica gritted her teeth, "-but you won't be escaping this time. You're under arrest."

Harry deduced that the woman had to be talking about his doppleganger, who up to now had apparently done no good to anyone in this world. "I'm Harrison Wells but I'm not the Harrison…"

Veronica threatened again with her gun after Harry took a step forwards. "Stop! You move closer, and I'll shoot."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Give me that-" he raised the silver gun still in his hand and Veronica mistook that as a threat and so she shot him.

The moment Harry collapsed on the floor, Caitlin came running in, going out of her mind with the scene. "Oh, my God, what have you done? Harrison? Harrison, stay with me. Harrison, Harrison, stay with me!" she didn't know how to quite move him without hurting him even more. "Stay with me, Harrison, come on." She shot Veronica a snarky look. "Why did you shoot him?"

"I thought that was a gun!" Veronica exclaimed and motioned to the silver gun on the floor. "That's Harrison Wells! He's meant to be dead-"

"Oh, and you decided to go ahead and finish that job!?"

"What - excuse you! I followed him thinking he was back to no good again! That was after I processed the fact he wasn't dead like Belén told me!"

Caitlin growled and got up from her spot. "I have to call Belén! And Nina!"

"What is going on!?" Veronica watched Caitlin run over to the desk to get on that phone call.

"Ms. Green, I will let your daughter do that explaining! Right now you're going to help move him-" Caitlin pointed at Harry, "-to a bed."

Veronica's eyes flickered from Harry to Caitlin incredulously.

~ 0 ~

Of course the moment Belén - and consequently Iris and Laurel - heard what happened at STAR Labs, dinner was cancelled. Belén came running in with Iris and Laurel behind, only to see Caitlin and Nina Clarke tending to Harry's unconscious self. Veronica still remained in the cortex, glowering at the two doctors but still primarily confused.

" _What_ happened!?" Belén hastily walked up to her two friends.

"I shot him, that's what," Veronica was the one to answer, and quite aggressively too. She still didn't understand what was going on. As far as she knew, Harrison Wells was meant to be on his way to the hospital to be treated and then promptly shipped off to Iron Heights.

"Why would you do that?"

Veronica blinked rapidly, unsure if she'd heard right. "Y-you're asking me...why I shot the man who murdered my ex-husband, and destroyed my children's lives?"

Belén remained quiet. Of course to her mother, it was a stupid question.

"How is he doing?" Laurel neared Caitlin and Nina.

"He's losing oxygen," Caitlin shook her head.

"Nina, you can't do anything?" Iris went along with Laurel.

"There's a bullet in a branch of his pulmonary artery that's blocking off most of the blood flow from the left lung," Nina was quite serious in the matter. "And I can't remove the bullet without causing too much damage."

"You need Jay," Caitlin suddenly thought of and looked at Belén.

"Go, call him," the ombre-blonde gave a nod.

"Belén…" Veronica stared at her daughter hard, "...what the hell is going on?"

Belén looked at her friends and then back at her mother. There really was no way out of explaining this unless she felt like looking like a crazy person. Running a hand through her hair, she began to spill. "That man-" she gestured to Harry, "-is _not_ the Harrison Wells you think he is."

Veronica's eyes squinted as she tried process the words. "E-excuse me? What? Belén, I'm not an idiot-"

"No, of course you're not! You're far from it!" Belén bitterly exclaimed. "You've gone in search so much that I have _have_ to tell you now."

"Tell me what?" Veronica looked around the place, frowning with utter dislike. "Why do you come here so often? This place belonged to the man that destroyed our family."

"Because we've turned it into something _good_ ," Belén said softly, her eyes looking past her mother to the display case that was currently covered by the sliding wall Cisco installed to keep hers and Barry's suits out of the public's views. She walked over to the desk and with one last look at her friends (who encouraged her to go on), she pressed the button that slid the wall up. " _I_ have helped turn it into something good."

Veronica followed Belén's gesture and turned to find a familiar green suit sitting on a mannequin. Veronica's mouth opened with a slight gasp.

"I'm her, Mom," Belén said before Veronica made her own conclusions. "I'm the Azalea."

So many things started making sense to Veronica within the next minute. Her daughter's strange behavior, for once, every time this vigilante was mentioned. It also helped to remind her that this precise vigilante had already made appearances in Star City, along with the Arrow.

"It was... _you_ ," Veronica turned back to meet her daughter's nervous face. "You've been this vigilante all this time and I'm just _now_ hearing about it?"

"It's not something easy I can talk to you about," Belén said weakly, seeing anger starting up in Veronica's eyes.

"Oh, my bad, so it's my fault now," Veronica bitterly laughed.

"Mom, I don't want to keep fighting with you, okay? You know now. And you should also know that this man-" Belén once more gestured to Harry, "-is _not_ the man you think he is. He's from another world, alright?"

"Another world…" Veronica laughed there, clearly disbelieving it.

"It exists, okay? This is...a doppelganger. And he isn't here harming us. The Harrison Wells you know about, he's dead. Like...actually, he was erased from existence so it's even better."

"You need to stop," Veronica pointed at Belén. "You need to stop talking. I-I need to…" her head whipped in the direction of the Azalea suit, and her eyes flickered to the empty mannequin beside it. "Who...who's that one for?" she pointed.

Belén thought that if she told Veronica about Barry, then it would really drive things home for her mom. "I…"

"Oh, now this is rich," Veronica, it seemed, already made her conclusions. "Oh my God-" she rubbed her face, "-of course you work with the Flash."

"Mom-"

"NO!" Veronica waved her hands, indicating she was done. "Two years all this has been happening and you decide to tell me this now! Not to mention that all of it is just...crazy."

"Crazy?" it was Belén's turn to laugh. "Mom, we're helping people-"

"You are putting yourself in danger!" Veronica glanced at Nina, Iris and Laurel. "And you all knew. Of course you did. But none of you had the common sense to make her see reality!"

"The Azalea has helped people, Ms. Green," Iris spoke up for Belén. "She and the Flash have saved people and places."

"But at what cost?" Veronica's eyes teared up. "I lost my ex-husband, my son, my son-in-law, and my daughter."

"But Belén is right there," Nina snapped. Unlike Iris and Laurel, she had more of an attitude to match Veronica's. "She is the one who had to fight against Rayan and Maritza to do what's right. You should be damn proud of her and not shouting at her like she's five years old!"

Veronica turned to Belén, her tears on the verge of spilling. "You are putting yourself in danger, Belén. With that...that monster of Zoom out there...and that-that Datura. You want to keep going?"

"Zoom is not after me, Mom," Belén said quietly. "He and the Flash have their own battle going on."

"But the crossfires, Belén. _Those_ are the real dangers. And that Datura, she's already hurt you, hasn't she?" Veronica started to remember those strange bruises on her daughter's body. The _stitches_ on her neck. "If I lose you too…I will _break_. I will." She decided that enough was enough for that night and so she stormed out of the room.

Belén dug her hands through her hair and took in a deep breath. Her own tears were threatening to fall.

"Hey," Laurel walked up to her, pulling her hands from her hair. "You did good. It's better she found out now than by someone else."

"She's so _mad_ ," Belén's voice broke. "I have never seen her like that. And we've had some arguments."

"She reacted like anyone in her place would have," Laurel glanced back at the others for some backup.

"My dad was really mad when he discovered Barry was going out in the beginning," Iris thought to help by reminding of that parallel.

"Laurel put her hands on Belén's shoulders. "Your mother has lost most of her family, so it's logical she's scared to death about this. Give her some space to think about it and cool down."

"Okay," Belén nodded. There was nothing else to do, really, but wait. She wasn't expecting her mother to understand it all in one go, and much less when Belén knew she hadn't said all of the story.

A while later, Caitlin's call had gone through and Jay had dignified to show up.

"How bad is it?" although he asked he made his own conclusions based on just looking at Harry.

"There's a bullet in his pulmonary artery," Nina informed. "Caitlin said you could help."

"Can you close the wound if I get it?" Jay countered with, a silent agreement made amongst them.

"Yes."

"How are you going to do that?" Laurel asked, getting an odd look in return. She smiled and introduced herself. "Laurel Lance. Black Canary-" she gestured to herself then went ahead and gestured to him, "-Flash of another world. I know it all."

Jay slowly looked to Caitlin, the only face he needed to see. Caitlin handed him the silver gun holding the serum.

"What is that?" Iris laid eyes on the silver gun with distaste.

"It's a serum called Velocity-6. It could give Jay temporary speed," Caitlin said. "He can phase through Doctor Wells' chest and remove the bullet."

"Yeah, but I told you, I have no idea what's gonna happen if I use that," Jay reminded.

"If Caitlin did it then you should be okay," Belén said, showing her full trust for her friend

Jay injected his palm with the serum and waited for the effects. He growled in pain but the women all saw the familiar orangey lightening fill his eyes. His right hand began to vibrate, and not wasting time, he dug it into Harry's chest and managed to pull the bullet out.

Nina quickly began to see the effects of the intervention and smiled. "BP and oxygenation is rising. Blood flow is returning to his lungs."

Caitlin moved over and hugged Jay. "Thank you."

~ 0 ~

After a new day to sleep on things, as well as to monitor Harry's situation, Belén found herself alone in her apartment...thinking. She was waiting, actually, for Laurel to stop by, but in the meanwhile she was planning on what to do with her mother. All that day, Belén had tried talking to Veronica but was sent away or her calls were ignored. She was beginning to understand how it felt to be paid with the same coin. She'd done the same thing to her mother and was now paying one.

Hearing the knock on the door, Belén went to go answer, mentally preparing herself for a nice night with Laurel. She opened the door and was mighty surprised to see Barry who was not meant to be back so early.

"Hi," she greeted with a slow smile working across her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Change of plans," Barry shrugged and raised his hands. "Bad guy's here."

"Oh... _oh_ ," Belén soon understood the implications.

"But don't worry, Oliver and the rest of the team coming too. We'll get him," Barry walked right in. "Did I miss anything here?"

"Uh...well…" Belén slowly closed the door, wondering how to put all her words together. "Laurel is here already. Um, Caitlin and Harry worked out this serum thing, oh and my Mom shot Harry which led me to tell her that I am the Azalea."

" _What_!?" Barry whirled around, his eyes widened to the impossible.

"Harry's fine, but my Mom refuses to talk to me so I'm just here on my own…"

Barry could see the last thing she wanted was to be alone. "Why didn't you go stay with Iris, hm? Caitlin? Or Nina?"

Belén gave a shrug of her shoulders as she walked past him. "I don't know. I live alone, I should get used to that."

"Yeah, but...why would you want to be alone?" Barry asked, a playful hint in his tone. "I've done that...and it's not a lot of fun."

Belén chuckled and turned away from him. "Well, Barry, sometimes a girl just likes to be alone. I can wake up and decide not to put pants on and who would tell me anything?" Barry got to thinking behind her. "I'm fine, really. I just needed some time to think about - are you staring at my legs?" she had turned around and found Barry's gaze directed at her legs.

Being caught, his face turned red. "I-I wasn't, n-no…"

"Were you thinking about it?" Belén laughed and sat down on the couch armrest. "Me with no pants on?"

"No!" Barry said a bit too quick, only making Belén laugh even more. "Oh, you are so gonna pay for that."

"You're an idiot," Belén accused as he marched up to her. "But I actually missed that so I'm going to let it go." Barry leaned down to kiss her but she pulled away. "On the one condition that you stop looking at my legs."

"That I can't help," Barry out his hands on either side of her. "See, you're too beautiful, and that includes your legs."

"Oh really?"

"Mhm," Barry closed to the gap between them with a kiss. There was a muffled laughter between them as Barry carefully pushed her back onto the couch.

"You came back with some necessities…" Belén laughed while while Barry crawled over her.

"I've discovered I can't be away from you very long," Barry innocently admitted. "Plus, you've got some nice legs."

"Oh my God, shut up!" Belén threw her head back in another round of laughter. She lightly gasped when she felt one of his hands trailing down from her thigh and down. "I love you and your idiocy."

"I love you and your sweet words," Barry countered with. He leaned down and barely got to kiss her again when someone new knocked on the door.

"Belén? Open up. I've got take out and it's pretty heavy!" Laurel's voice broke them apart.

"What?" Barry frowned.

"Oh, um, I forgot to mention Laurel was staying over," Belén pushed Barry off her in order to sit up.

"Well, it looks like I'm the odd man out," Barry pretended to huff.

"Aw, you can stay if you'd like," Belén offered and got up.

"No, I'd rather have you all to myself," Barry got up and took her hands. "We _really_ need a date, you know. Or just some plain time to ourselves."

"Agreed, but we can probably sort that after we take down the bad guys?"

Barry nodded. He stole a kiss from her and sped out of the room, of course not before speeding Laurel's bags to the coffee table. Laurel's hair fell over her face from the speed and laughed.

"Now I see what Diggle means!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And Belén dropped the bomb on her mom! Been waiting to write that part for a while now guys! We'll see more of Veronica's reactions in the later chapters!

So, I know this chapter only had a little of my new OC but the next chapter will have loads of her! This chapter was mainly to introduce Jinx and then focus on Belén's arc here. Next chapter will have all of the Flarrow crossover ;). And since this is a two-parter I'm specifically excited for, I'll be posting the next part probably tomorrow!

But please, please let me know what you guys think so far of Jinx! P.S 'Jinx' is not her real name, she has a civilian name, promise! :)


	10. A Jinx's Path

**A/N: Once again, this chapter concludes the introduction of my new Arrowverse OC. While she takes the name of "Jinx" , a canon villain in the DC world, she will be portrayed as a descendant and not the actual original villain.**

* * *

Visiting Star City when it was due to some strange, mystical man wasn't exactly on Barry's top five things to do. Yet there he was because an innocent woman was being hunted down by the mystical man. At least he could be surrounded by friends who would be able to help him in case something went wrong.

While everyone came up with a decent plan for Kendra Saunders, they gathered in Oliver's apartment for some drinks that night. Barry had listened to how much had changed for both Felicity and Oliver, and honestly couldn't hide his shock.

"So, you're the CEO of Palmer Technologies," Barry pointed to Felicity Smoak as he wrapped his mind around the idea of Felicity being big boss as a company, "And you're now living with Oliver Queen."

"There you go, you got it!" Felicity sarcastically hit him on the arm.

"It's insane how much life can change in six months, huh?"

"Which you would know better than anyone, considering that there's another Flash, another Dr. Wells, from another... earth. I mean…" but as much as Felicity tried wrapping her mind around a new Earth it just wouldn't. "I wonder what Oliver's doppelganger would look like. Bald, pot-bellied…" Barry laughed at the idea and sneaked a glance at Oliver in the kitchen. "Haven't asked, how are you and Belén doing?"

"Uuh...I mean, we're good," Barry meant to be honest in that in terms of being a couple they were indeed good, but there were some rough patches that didn't exactly pertain to their relationship.

"I sense there's a 'but' somewhere there…" Felicity narrowed her eyes on him, ready to scrutinize him on the spot.

"It's not about us, it's just we're dealing with...you know...other world and stuff."

"Oh…" that seemed to calm Felicity more or less.

"I love her and I hate seeing her so stressed... I want to help her but I don't know how." And Barry despised that fact. He had the answers to his speed because there were people to train him, even if some of those were evil, but the fact laid in that he garnered the skills because of guidance. Belén didn't have that. To find the answers, she was basically on her own.

~0~

While everyone mingled, Cisco took opportunity to have a word with Barry on the side. He hadn't been sure if he wanted to tell Barry what he saw but Cisco was sure it would inevitably help Kendra in the end.

"You 'vibed' Kendra?" Barry was surprised to hear.

"Unintentionally," Cisco left that clear before he went on. "But remember the man with wings? It wasn't a man. It was Kendra. She was, like, a bird. You think that she's a meta-human?"

Barry could not be sure, and neither was Cisco. "Mm... Wait. Why didn't you say anything about this sooner?"

Cisco gave a light shrug. "Well, I didn't think it was related, but I guess now it has to be. Look, I don't want her to know about my powers. I have this great thing going with her. She laughs at my jokes, and she loves movies, and... I just... I've never felt like this before, and I don't want to sabotage it."

"I get the feeling," Barry could honestly relate.

"Look!" Kendra had jumped from her seat to point at the glass wall overlooking the city.

Vandal Savage was swinging forwards and broke through the window. Everyone backed away as the man got up. He certainly seemed at home when he saw Kendra. " I will always find you, Chay-Ara."

Barry sped Oliver and Thea their arrows. Oliver quickly took aim on Savage. "Don't move."

"Then how will I kill you all?" Savage pulled out several pocket knives in a second and threw them strategically at them all. Barry sped down and managed to get the knives before they were able to hurt anyone.

Oliver then took his moment to shoot arrows towards Savage. The intended victim ducked and dodged like there was no tomorrow. At the same time, a familiar purple and black leathered figure swooped in through the hole Savage left on the wall. With one leg stretched on the floor and a hand keeping her from falling, Jinx shot her purple beams at the lights above and caused massive sparks to fly down on the group.

"You again?" Savage faced her, fairly curious with the persistent women.

"Me, again," Jinx smirked as she straightened up. "We weren't finished."

"We weren't," Savage didn't hesitate to start throwing more blades her way.

She backtracked while dodging them all with those bright purple beams that seemed to either change the blades' direction or crush them altogether. Oliver and Thea joined again, although neither was sure who that woman was, and shot more arrows towards Savage. Jinx dropped her hands and ran forwards to engage Savage in hand-to-hand combat. She proved to be skilled as she jumped and blocked Savage's punches while throwing one of her own. Finally, Savage became agitated it was all taking too long and surprised Jinx with a different, golden chopped knife. It would have came straight at her heart if Barry hadn't sped in and grabbed it three inches away from her. In her shock, Savage took his opportunity and escaped by jumping off Oliver's balcony.

"No!" Jinx cried as the man disappeared. She tried to chase after him but Barry grabbed her arm.

"He's not going to make it!" he said, but she yanked her arm from his grip.

"He's immortal you idiot!" she shouted angrily and hurried to the balcony. She looked down but, no surprise, Savage was gone again. "Dammit!" she grasped her hair and turned around to the shock-stricken group staring at her.

"Hey…" Barry meant to approach her calmly but she was too angry to stop and realize.

"I said to stay out of it! I only have a couple chances before they find me and you keep ruining it!" she gritted her teeth and scoured the group until she spotted Kendra. "I'm not messing up again."

Kendra felt this was a warning that encumbered her too and suddenly stepped back. Jinx lowered her arms and straightened up.

"You're the one he calls Chay-Arah...so you're it." Jinx smiled and thrust an arm in the group's way, or so it seemed. Her beams had hit the pillars that were part of the supporting pieces of the ceiling.

"Ah...what's happening…?" Felicity couldn't, and wouldn't, take her eyes off the ceiling.

Jinx was running towards Kendra but Oliver and Thea took aim up again on her. It made it a struggle for Jinx to keep going as she had to constantly battle the arrows threatening her. Barry decided to end it by simply taking Jinx over her victim and pinned her against the back wall.

"Kendra isn't going anywhere with you," he warned her.

"You don't get it, _she's_ the key," Jinx kicked him in the stomach. "It's not like I'm going to hurt her. I just...need you…" she laid dark eyes on Kendra.

"Yo, not happening," Cisco barred the way to his girlfriend.

Jinx laughed mockingly at his defense. She raised a hand, making Felicity panic. She'd figured out Jinx's powers by now.

"Not the ceiling!" cried the blonde.

Jinx rolled her eyes but redirected her hands to the kitchen. Energy beams made fire erupt from the oven and another shot at the walls made pipes burst. Even if they wanted to stop Jinx, the natural disasters prevented them from saving Kendra. Jinx had taken her all too easy in their distress.

~0~

"All right, Lance is gonna call if he gets any information on... whoever they were…" Oliver said after hanging up the phone.

"And the ceiling…?" Felicity hadn't taken her eyes off the ceiling since the fight. It kept grumbling and groaning like it would collapse at any moment.

"Homegirl Jinx lives up to her name," Cisco bitterly kicked the couch from behind.

"New metahuman?" asked Diggle.

"Man, we don't know what she is except she's crazy with bad luck powers!"

Barry put a hand on Cisco's shoulder, understanding he was sick worried over Kendra. "Look, you can call me crazy too but I don't think Jinx is going to hurt Kendra." Cisco turned on Barry with an incredulous expression on his face. "I just meant-" Barry took a precautionary step backwards, "-she clearly wants to get this man as much as we want to and she's made the connection that wherever Kendra is that man will follow."

"You saying she's gonna use Kendra as bait?" Thea raised her eyebrows.

Barry shrugged, knowing that the possibility of Kendra being bait didn't exactly make Cisco feel much better. "It's just…"

"It's exactly what we would do," Oliver spoke up.

Cisco's eyes nearly popped from his head. "What!?"

"And if she's thinking like that then maybe we can reason with her," Oliver continued like Cisco hadn't spoken. "We could get her to help us instead."

"And maybe have her fix our ceiling…" Felicity mumbled.

"Felicity, you think we can find Kendra by pinging her phone?" Barry asked.

"Oh, watch me!"

~0~

Kendra found it was useless trying to pull on the ropes binding her wrists and ankles together. She leaned against the wall where Jinx had put her and frowned at the woman who had kidnapped her. Jinx was sitting on a table, literally, tinkering with the metal wristwatch (as it appeared to Kendra) on her.

' _There's a 98% probability Vandal Savage will be around the area, Miss Haynez_ ,' a computerized voice informed her.

"What is that?" Kendra couldn't help be curious of the device.

Jinx looked up with a smirk. "It's a miniature A.l device I knicked off a friend."

"You _stole_ it?"

"Oh, I'm gonna give it back when I'm finished in this time," Jinx put both her hands on her lap. "My friend will probably shout at how irresponsible it was to go through time and blah, blah, blah-" she rolled her eyes, "He always likes to be dramatic."

Kendra's eyebrows knitted together. "Wait, time? You're a…"

"Man, I read all about these metahumans before coming - the Flash, the Azalea, the Arrow, Black Canary? I thought they were super smart enough to figure that out."

"Give them credit," Kendra frowned. "It's not everyday we come across time travelers and immortals."

Jinx laughed. "True."

Kendra studied the woman for real now and came, fairly quick, to the conclusion that whatever Jinx wanted it really had nothing to do with _her_. She wanted Savage. She was merely the bait.

Jinx hopped off the table and walked towards Kendra. "I need you to wake up or something."

"Wake up…?"

"C'mon, it would be a lot easier to fight Savage knowing you could defend yourself. I don't want liabilities."

"I have no idea what you mean," Kendra pulled her legs closer to her as Jinx neared her.

"I know you have powers, Kendra. And I know there's another of your kind-"

"My _kind_?" repeated Kendra, now truly confused.

"The male. I don't know where he us but that's okay since Savage seems to want only you right now. But c'mon, sprout the wings, pull the sword out or something."

"Okay I have _no_ idea what you're talking about!"

Jinx looked mighty frustrated and disappointed with Kendra. "Tell me you're kidding?" Kendra's blank face said it all. "Woman!"

"I'm just a barista!"

"No, you're not! You're like a...I don't know, reincarnation? I honestly didn't read too much on that background. All I know is that you and some other guy die and reincarnate over and over because of Savage. And since you don't even have your powers activated it's gonna be a hell of a lot easier for Savage to get you!" Jinx growled and turned away from Kendra. "I don't have that much time here before they find me…" she rubbed her face and hoped to God something would pop in her mind to help her out.

Meanwhile, Kendra tried to internalize what she'd been told about herself apparently? None of it made sense but it would explain why Savage was so hellbent on killing her. There was a hell to pay that she didn't even know about.

About thirty minutes later, Jinx returned to Kendra and pulled the woman up without saying a word. She pushed Kendra towards the exit of the abandoned room.

"Wh-where are we going?" Kendra tried digging her heels into the ground to stop herself from going.

"Relax, I'm taking you out to the street. I figure maybe your powers will show up if you're under stressor, also known as _me_."

"Wait, what!?"

Jinx pushed Kendra out and forced the woman to go to the dark street. She left Kendra tried by the wrists and stepped back. "Ready?"

"NO!"

"Yes!" Jinx's excited voice went over Kendra. She swung an arm forwards and her energy beams hit the nearest street pole by Kendra.

"No! Stop!" Kendra cried and jumped backwards just as the pole groaned and fell over. From the force, Kendra fell back.

Jinx clapped a hand to her forehead. "This is seriously not how I imagined things going."

Kendra shot the woman a glare from the ground.

"We're going to need to 'up' the stakes," Jinx theorized, lowering her hand to her chin. "I suppose it's like a self preservation. The bigger the stressor…the more chances of getting those powers…"

"Please…" Kendra scuttled backwards, unable to get up on her own, "...whatever you want from me...it's not going to work…"

"Wouldn't say that," Jinx's eyes raised up to the electricity cables. "Perfect."

Kendra followed the woman's gaze up and felt her blood run cold. "Oh n-n-n-n-no…"

"Sprout those wings, woman!" Jinx raised her hands above her head and was about to shoot at the cables when an arrow struck her by the shoulder and pushed her to the ground. "OW!"

Before she knew it, Barry had sped in front of her and looked down. "If you don't want another arrow, I suggest you listen."

Behind him dropped Oliver who took a threatening aim at Jinx. Jinx's dark eyes flickered between the two and could see past them where Diggle and Thea were helping Kendra up. Suddenly, Barry lowered a hand for her to take, confusing her of course.

"First you shoot me-" Jinx pulled out the arrow embedded on her shoulder like it was nothing and threw it to the side, "-and then you offer help?"

"You haven't been all that straight forwards either," Barry retorted and motioned her again to just take his hand.

Jinx grasped his hand and let him pull her up. She cast a suspicious glance on Oliver who still didn't lower his arrows. "What now? You'll imprison me?" she challenged but scoffed in the end. "Because if I'm being honest, you're gonna have to get in line."

"We just want to talk," Barry reassured but Jinx cleared her throat and nodded her head at Oliver. "Dude…" Barry tried pushing away the arrow Oliver had until eventually Oliver lowered it completely. "Thank you. Look," Barry tried again with Jinx, "we don't understand anything-"

"-clearly," Jinx crossed her arms.

"-but it looks like you do and we have a common enemy so...why don't we help each other out?"

"She tried crushing me with a street pole!" Kendra shouted from across. Now that she was free she frantically motioned to the pole on the ground.

"Hey that was only to get you to sprout those wings!" Jinx snapped. "And it didn't even work!"

"I don't _have_ any wings!" Kendra waved her hands in the air. "I don't have any powers! I keep telling you that!"

"I _know_ you do! You just haven't activated them!"

Kendra stalked towards them but a male figure - flying - in a golden suit with wings suddenly swooped down and took her off the ground. "HELP!" Kendra screamed but no one could possibly do so.

And then, just like that, Oliver took aim against Jinx again. "You have some explaining to do!"

"Oh calm down," Jinx wasn't even looking at him anymore. She raised her wrist that had the watch-like device strapped to it and pulled up several holographic screens.

"What the hell was that?" Thea came running over with Diggle.

"Not a 'what' but a 'he'," a big smile, like the Chestshire cat, was spreading across Jinx's face. "It's the other one! I've hit the jackpot!"

"Explain!" demanded Oliver.

"Sure, just lower the arrows," Jinx ordered. Begrudgingly, Oliver did so but his hand was still wrapped around the bow pretty tightly. "Look, don't worry, she's not in danger, alright? That's probably her reincarnated soulmate."

Everyone winced because Cisco had given a mighty big 'oh hell no' in their ears through the comms.

"What are you talking about?" Barry asked Jinx but the woman kept working on the device. "And what the hell is that?"

"I read about them, alright? There's two of them and Savage will always kill them both! It's obvious the guy has figured his powers out," Jinx sighed. "I should have gone after him instead."

"Whoever he is we need to find him," Diggle said.

"He's not gonna get far once he sees Kendra hasn't activated her powers," Jinx turned her wristwatch off. "I need to go after them before Savage finds them."

"You are not going anywhere," Thea warned her. "We don't even know your name. We're not letting you go anywhere near Kendra."

"If anything, she should be back in the base explaining things," Barry offered, much to Jinx's dismay. "We'll find Kendra and that guy...and we'll bring them back. But _you_ -" he pointed at Jinx, "-need to be committed to cooperate with us. And you're gonna start by telling us everything you know and who you are."

"Fine, but on the other side, I'd like you to guarantee me that Savage dies. It's crucial for me, do you understand?" and in truth there was something in Jinx's eyes indicating this was more than a simple hunt for her. There was something important she was fighting for.

Barry extended a hand forwards. "Deal."

Jinx nodded and shook hands on it.

~ 0 ~

And although the strange man gave quite the chase, Barry and Oliver had managed to bring him down with some tranquilizing arrows. That of course didn't sit well with Jinx when they expressed the idea of chaining the man up.

"He is a key to all this!"

"He kidnapped me!"

"He was just trying to protect you!"

"You know, I don't like you very much," Kendra crossed her arms and glared straight at Jinx.

"You know, liking you has nothing to do with this. You're just a way to get to my goal," Jinx responded and glanced back at the unconscious, chained up, man across them.

"Yo, we trusted you enough to bring you in here," Cisco gestured to the base. "So mind doing your thing about explaining all this? Start with your real name, please?"

Jinx drew in a deep breath as she resigned herself to disclosure. She hadn't planned on revealing anything about herself while in the past, but to be honest she hadn't expected on killing Savage to be such a difficult task in the past.

"Yo? _Name_?" called Cisco once he felt like they were losing her again.

"Fine," the woman spat. She folded her arms over her chest and sighed. "My name is Graciela Haynez, but I'm also known as Jinx."

"And how are you connected to all this?" Barry then asked since none of them could figure it out yet.

"I'm not connected," Graciela clarified first. "But my life, as well as my entire world, has been affected by that man. Vandal Savage, as you have guessed, is a murderer. And where I'm from, he's a _dictator_."

"And where are you from again?" Felicity asked from the platform. She was leaning against her desk, refusing to be too close to Jinx for the moment. Jinx looked to the side, apparently reluctant to answer.

"Hey, you promised you would tell us everything," Barry reminded her.

Graciela threw her head back and rubbed her face. "Fine! I'm from the future."

"Okay, can we lock her up now?" Thea sarcastically asked.

"I'm not kidding! I'm from the year 2166 and I came back here to stop Savage before he takes over my city and the whole frikin world!"

But everyone continued to stare at her like she was spilling nothing but lies.

"Fine, you want proof?" Graciela raised her wristwatch and activated it. There were various images displaying a destroyed city and the last one showed Vandal Savage at the head of an army. When Graciela shut the device off, she was subjected to various horrific stares. "There's your proof. That's home sweet home for me."

"Wait," Cisco shook his head as if that would erase everything image he just saw, "You mean to tell me you time traveled back in time to stop Savage from ever becoming dictator? Isn't that like...against rules or something?"

"Oh yeah, but the thing is I don't care," Graciela said like nothing. "I've been fighting a rebellion for as long as I can remember and even though I know people can fight him, that organization has refused to do it. So, _I'm_ doing it. So can we get this moving?"

Barry looked at Oliver to see what he was thinking. As usual, there was nothing describable in Oliver's face except for pensiveness.

"Might I suggest something?" Barry finally asked.

~ 0 ~

It took a lot of explaining, but after things were clear - or at least decently clear - Star City's finest returned to Central City with Barry, along with Graciela, in hopes of coming up with a good, airtight, plan against Savage.

First thing in order was to relocate somewhere remote.

"A bunch of superheroes in a farmhouse?" Thea gave a weird look at the grassy field they arrived at. "I feel like I've seen that in a movie before."

"We need a secure location," Oliver moved around their black van without so much of a glance to their surroundings. All he knew was that there was a decent home and it was far away from the city.

"And what's wrong with STAR Labs?" asked Belén just as she got off the STAR Labs van.

"Well, I mean, absolutely nothing if you forget about the revolving door you guys installed so the bad guys can come and go as they please."

Belén exchanged a look with Caitlin beside her, both offended on behalf of their beloved STAR Labs.

"And remind us again what happened to your old lair?" Caitlin was the one to respond first, but of course Belén had something else to add.

"Or the one before that?"

Oliver glared at both women.

"Well, lair number one was compromised by the police, and…" Felicity trailed off when Olivier's glance switched to her. She cleared her throat and looked down. "I will stop helping."

Oliver decided to stop paying them attention before he would lose it. Instead, he led the group towards the safe house. "Savage only let Barry and I live because he felt Kendra start to emerge as Hawkgirl and went after her. He can sense her and Carter's presence. We don't need to make it easier on him by staying in the city limits."

"Bet you wish you were staying at your mother's place now," Belén mumbled to Laurel since the latter had been staying in Central City anyways.

"Ha!" Laurel practically snorted.

It had been half an hour since the group settled into the house, and only then did Cisco, Barry and Graciela appear.

"Barry, you're late!" Oliver's sharpness had no effect on Barry anymore. He'd come to get used to Oliver's way of being a long time ago. Instead, he learned how to make comebacks.

"Sorry. It turns out, it's not easy finding the ass end of nowhere!"

"Yeah, for real," Cisco pulled out his cellphone and immediately checked for his internet status. "The roaming charges alone are going to bankrupt me."

"...are those my clothes?" Belén raised an eyebrow the moment she spotted Graciela wearing her pink cardigan.

Graciela, in turn, uncomfortably shifted on her feet while flailing her arms. "Yeah, and I hate pink."

"Be a little grateful, won't yah?" snapped Cisco. "We borrowed-"

"- _my_ clothes?" Belén's voice started getting that same sharpness Oliver owned so well, and that was something Barry still had no comeback to.

"Uuuh…" Barry drew it out while he pulled Belén to the side in the meantime the others started gathering with Cisco's cart of inventions.

"Barry, she's wearing my clothes," Belén said quietly though in growing irritation. Her eyes flickered to Graciela who was indeed wearing everything that belonged to her. "I'm all for sharing but I'm not comfortable doing it with someone I don't know and who also attacked my friends multiple times."

"I know that, and I understand, but it's okay now. Graciela's okay. She's on our side," Barry tried to explain quick before she got actually angry. "She's from the future and she didn't have anything and you always have spares at STAR Labs, sooo…."

"Fine," Belén crossed her arms. "But can I at least meet her now? I mean, the only reason I know her name is Graciela is because you just said it right now. Last time we saw each other, she attacked us."

"It's been a busy day," Barry said in his defense.

"Mhm," Belén's hum was almost like a red flag.

It was a good thing Barry wasn't naive to believe it was all due to borrowed clothes. As soon as he'd returned to Central City yesterday, Belén filled him in on what had happened in his absence. She'd been forced to tell her mother that she the Azalea, they had Harry stabilizing back at STAR Labs (under the care of Nina), and of course no one could forget she was going crazy trying to figure more things out about Datura, and the lack of success was getting to her. Her training, while good, still felt like it was mediocre against Datura's and Poison Ivy's.

Borrowed clothes were merely the tip of the iceberg for Belén.

"We need to get rid of Savage's magic stick thing," Oliver couldn't believe he was actually saying those words.

"Yeah, Staff of Horus," Carter corrected but it really didn't matter.

"Well, it's protected by some kind of energy field," Graciela said bitterly. "It's impossible to get to. Believe me, I've tried."

"What about some mittens, then?" Felicity joked for a second until she got the actual idea. "Ooooooh, maybe some insulated gauntlets…"

Caitlin seemed to catch the idea as well since she chimed in, "Oh, yeah, yeah, the magnetic shielding could disrupt the-"

"-the staff's magnetic polarity!" Cisco even had a go and started leading the two women into the hallway.

"Well, while the geek squad works-"

"-heard that, honey!" Felicity called to Oliver, actually making him wince.

"While they work to get the staff away from Savage, we need to know everything there is to know about him." Oliver's eyes landed on Graciela and Kendra, but the latter seemed pretty uncomfortable to say anything.

"What's to know about him is that he's evil, manipulative, and powerful," Graciela listed off her fingers before shrugging. "That's about it, really."

"He's been around for 4,000 years - he should have a trail or something."

"You're from the future, right?" Belén moved closer to the group. "You obviously know more about him than we will ever know right now."

"I mean…" Graciela seemed like there was a lot she wanted to say but failed to come up with a way to say it. She dragged a hand through her short curls and sighed. "You have to understand that where I come from, he's already won. He's the dictator. He's all powerful and there's no way of stopping him because those two-" she jerked a thumb at Kendra and Carter, "-are dead. I don't know everything about Savage. I just know that in the 21st century he comes across metahumans that almost stop him."

"So what was your plan, then? When you first thought of coming here?" Barry wondered since her first appearance seemed a hellbent on killing.

"To be honest, I don't know," Graciela crossed her arms, looking rather guilty about her confession. "I'm impulsive and I…" she once again paused to gather her words, "...I read in the history files that when Savage goes up against the Arrow, the Flash, the Azalea, Black Canary...his weapons are his downfall. I thought maybe if I showed up and take the weapons I might have a chance of fixing my future."

"Okay, how about I check with A.R.G.U.S., see if they have anything on him?" Diggle offered since it was clear they had nothing.

"That sounds great," Laurel nodded her head. "And Thea and I can check police reports and stuff like that."

"It's not gonna matter," Graciela called to the trio who were moving to start on their tasks.

"We're going to do our best," Thea offered one sour smile before following Laurel.

"And Kendra," Oliver turned his attention to Kendra, the sudden gaze making the woman stiffen. "We need to find a way to utilize your new ability."

She blinked until it hit her of what he meant. "My ability?" Of course he meant her 'ability', because she now had abilities. Because she wasn't normal. She was...she was some...

"It might give us an advantage," Oliver's voice pulled Kendra out from her thoughts.

Barry cleared his throat as he moved on around the group. "Yeah, whatever you do, don't let him train you." At that, Oliver gave him a look, but Barry was full on straightforward with his words. "I'm sorry, but when it rains, I can still feel where you shot me with those arrows."

"He's not that bad," Belén spoke up on Oliver's behalf, though it earned her an offended glance from Barry. "What? You were being smug and you got shot with arrows. What did you say to me before running?" She pretended to think about it before mocking him, ' _And give Bells a show_ '."

Barry nearly glared at her for bringing that one up. Okay, so he might have been a little over the top then but he didn't deserve to be shot with arrows.

"It's okay," Carter stepped forwards, hands held up, "I'll handle her training, then."

Kendra kept her mouth shut because the moment someone asked her directly whether or not she wanted to 'train' she'd say an automatic 'no'. Instead, she watched Carter leave the house for something in the van, no doubt that big chest box he'd carried with them.

~ 0 ~

"Where are you going?" Belén's question stopped Barry just as he was about to take off from the front porch.

"Well…" Barry prepared himself for what he knew would be a difficult explanation, "...I got a call...from, um...one of Oliver's…" he paused for a significant long time, making Belén rather impatient for she thought this would be him coming up with an excuse, "...frenemies."

"Which one?"

"Don't know...Merlyn?"

"You got a call from Merlyn?" Belén's tone of voice indicated she knew exactly who that was. Barry then remembered she and Laurel were completely close. "What the hell does he want!?"

"To talk to me and Oliver, I guess." Barry admitted to himself he didn't like the idea of meeting up with that type of man, but since Oliver was on his way too he had no choice but to go as well.

"Just you two? That's a bit rude," Belén folded her arms and deeply frowned. "And I'm sugarcoating it. You do realize this whole Savage thing involves a lot of people. Whatever he's going to say to you and Oliver, make sure you repeat it to us later, got it?"

"Got it," Barry dutifully said, even saluting for show. Once he saw a small smile trying to creep across her face, he knew she wasn't that upset.

"Just be careful, alright? I'll hold down the fort here," she said and looked to the side. She could see Kendra and Carter on the field, presumably training. "Though to be honest I think we might end up killing each other before Savage gets to us. Reincarnation, immortality and time travelers?"

Barry snorted with a laugh. "Yeah. This one's out of our terrain. But listen, Graciela? She knows a lot more than she's giving on. Maybe you can get her to talk more."

"Me?" Belén pointed at herself, relatively confused since she'd barely crossed a word with the time traveler. "But I haven't even met her. It's not like she's a big talker."

"Try to look at it from her perspective," Barry attempted to go through a different tactic. He stepped closer to Belén and lowered his voice in case anyone was nearby. "To her, this is a lost battle. It's like she said, she's already lost so this is technically one of her last options. And who knows what she left behind in the future. She could be fighting for something we don't know about. Someone maybe."

"I hate when you make sense," Belén sighed and ignored his smirk.

"Just try it. If there's anyone with a sweet voice it's you!" he swooped down and kissed her cheek.

"I'm gonna do it, you don't need to keep kissing up," she playfully rolled her eyes and pushed him away.

"K, gotta go!" Barry waved before rushing off.

Belén drew in a deep breath and prepared herself to go find that...unique...time traveler.

She moved back into the house in search of Graciela, but only found the three scientists working hard on those gauntlets-to-be, and then saw the other trio looking for traces of Savage. It led her to go back to the fields where Carter and Kendra were still going hard on that training, which looked rather frustrating for Kendra judging by those growls. Eventually, Belén spotted Graciela sitting on a rock just outside the shed. The closer Belén got, the better she could see Graciela was talking to something around her wrist.

"Show me London again," Graciela was instructing and suddenly a baby blue hologram flickered to life above the watch on her wrist.

It was not a pretty sight.

"Time hasn't changed," Graciela said with full disappointment. However, as soon as she saw Belén coming towards her, she pushed that disappointment to the back of her mind and turned the hologram off. She awkwardly cleared her throat and crossed her arms, effectively covering the watch.

"Hi," Belén was in the same awkward boat. "Um...I'm Belén, just in case you didn't get it before." Graciela gave a slight nod, but nothing more. Belén cleared her throat and came a little closer. "Were you talking to someone? Did I interrupt a conversation?"

Graciela shook her head. "Nah. People I talk to are a little bit busy right now...fighting…or dead..."

Belén raised her eyebrows, unsure of what to say to that. It looked like Graciela understood and decided to be nice and further explain the situation.

"I'm part of a rebellious group against Savage in my time….and even if I wanted to talk with any of my partners...they don't have this," Graciela revealed the futuristic watch on her wrist and gave it a gentle tap on its silver surface. "It's not even mine, to be honest."

"What do you mean by that?" Belén eyed the watch with a little more focus than before and saw it had some writing on the surface, but she couldn't make it out.

"It's my friend's - well, don't know if he qualifies me as a friend anymore. Either way, once he realizes I stole the watch from him he'll end up hating me even more, if that's possible. Unlike me, he's...proper," Graciela rolled her eyes. "He's part of this elite Time group and, to be frank, it's stupid. They know exactly what's happening to our world and they're not doing anything about it. And since my friend is too tied up in their rules to break anything...I did it." And even as Graciela retold the story, she didn't sound one bit regretful. "I have two friends in that stupid organization so I just waited for my moment to steal one of their watches. I needed to stop Savage."

Belén could see the struggle in Graciela's eyes to truly accept the consequences of her action. Graciela didn't regret it, but it didn't mean she was ready for what came next. "So it was worth it, then?"

Graciela's shrug was so little it barely looked like one. "I mean, I'm checking the future and everything is still the same, so...maybe it wasn't. I don't know." She shook her head and took a moment to calm herself by staring hard at the ground. She couldn't afford to feel doubtful, and much less to be ridiculous and cry. It was the journey she decided she would make for the sake of the world, despite what was coming for her.

"Are you-" Belén was just about to reach for Graciela's shoulder when the latter raised her head.

"Anyways," Graciela sniffed and rose from the ground with a whole new expression she was trying to make casual, "Sorry about your cardigan." She once again folded her arms and grazed the soft pink fabric of the cardigan. "Barry just offered them and I…"

"It's fine," Belén raised a hand to stop the woman. "I'm not that type of girl, trust me. Besides, you look good in pink."

"I don't like pink," Graciela bluntly reiterated.

"Right…" Belén looked away for a moment, and just in time to see Kendra falling flat on her back after a failed attempt to punch Carter. She scrunched her face, feeling the ghost of that pain from her own training. "That had to hurt."

Graciela followed Belén's gaze to Kendra and sighed. She walked a few steps towards the scene and watched it go on again. "If she keeps that up, we'll never take Savage down."

"She just discovered she's not really who she thought she was," reminded Belén. "That can't be easy to manage."

"We all have baggage," Graciela said too matter-of-factly to be genuine. "And we have to get over it in order to succeed. In order to _live_ _._ Savage will use any weakness to kill. He's done it before."

"What do you know about him? For real?"

Graciela turned sideways to see Belén expectantly waiting for an answer. "That he's been here for a good while. He's helped build empires and he's watched them fall. All these centuries he's been calculating and he's struck whenever it was most convenient for him. He has an immense power that...only _they_ -" she pointed back to Kendra and Carter, "-can take down."

"But why?" Belén wanted to know so badly.

"Because they're locked in a never ending cycle of life and death. I know you guys aren't big believers on magic, but it _does_ exist. I would know," Graciela's eyes flickered a purple that made Belén take a step back. "I'm part of their world."

"You're definitely not a metahuman…"

"No. I'm something else, but…" Graciela shook her head, deciding it wasn't worth it. "It doesn't matter what I am. What matters is how we take Savage down. I don't exactly have all the time in the world. And to be honest, with every passing second I'm a little less faithful in those two over there."

"We just gotta give them some time," Belén's optimism wasn't met with much agreement.

"As much as it pains me to admit out loud, I'm going to need all of you," Graciela made a move to leave. Where she was going, exactly, she didn't know.

Belén turned after her, choosing to follow her. "Well I don't know how much help I'll be to be honest. I'm sort of struggling to hone in on my powers." That admission made Graciela abruptly stop. She turned sideways to give Belén a strange look.

" _What_? You don't have powers?"

"No - I…" Belén sighed, bringing a hand to her head, "I do have powers and I use them fairly well I should say."

"Then what's the problem?"

"That I'm weak. I've been dealing with a metahuman who's like me but not me. She's a siphoner and no matter how much I train, she still kicks my ass."

Graciela seemed to be confused judging by the scrunch of her face. "You're the Azalea. You're a botanical metahuman. Why don't you just go to the Green for help?"

Now it was Belén's turn to be confused. "The _what_?"

"The Green," Graciela shrugged. "That one place where botanical metahumans gather?"

Belén drew a blank on her words. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"This is why time traveling isn't allowed I guess," Graciela mumbled. "But screw it. The Green is famous for being the place where all botanical metahumans can meet and train, and converse."

Belén tilted her head while she thought about this place. "It's...it's kind of like the Speedforce with Barry. Like the place where your powers originate from. But how do you know about this place?"

"I read about it in the files," shrugged Graciela. "There's an article that, um..." she blinked then gave Belén a certain kind of look, "... _you_ wrote, actually. It talked all about the Green."

" _I_ wrote it?" Belén tried to wrap her mind around that one and considered it very unlikely due to the fact she didn't even know what that place was.

"Yeah, in the future."

"Well how do I get there?"

Graciela looked at Belén as if she were crazy. "I don't know. I'm not a botanical metahuman but you are so...figure it out." She have another shrug and turned to walk away like nothing, never seeing Belén's face.

~ 0 ~

It honestly was not that surprising that Merlyn had arranged a meeting with Savage to figure out what he wanted.

"What do you want?" Merlyn led the meet and hoped to God that Oliver and Barry would keep their idiotic mouths shut for once.

"What all living things want- not to die," Savage answered in well-mannered tone. For now, this was merely a conversation.

"I thought that wasn't a problem for you," Oliver said.

"Only if I take the lifeforce from Prince Khufu and Priestess Chay-Ara. The three of us are locked in a vicious circle played out over thousands of years. None of your concern."

"We've made it our concern," Oliver all but snapped and shot one of his arrows directly at Savage.

Savage, however, took the arrow to the chest like a scratch and pulled out the arrow like nothing. "Robin of Locksley. I taught him how to use a bow. He taught me how to not feel pain. I'm the enemy you can't defeat. The only way for you and yours to live through this is to render onto me what is mine. Turn over Prince Khufu and Princess Chay-Ara within 24 hours, or I will lay waste to this city, killing everyone that you hold dear. And after that, I will travel to your home-" he directed a finger to Oliver, "-and do the same thing there."

"All right, I'm just curious- did you rehearse that speech in a mirror this morning, or this all just off the cuff?" Barry was slightly afraid, but it wasn't something he would say out loud.

"Why would you risk the lives of your friends and family for two strangers? 206 times I have killed them. What hubris possesses you that makes you think that you can prevent me from doing so again?" Savage paused his streak of questions to mock them with a laugh. "Oh, let me guess, the little time traveler? I certainly hope she's not your weapon because she will fail. I came to this meeting out of curiosity. It is now sated. Bring Khufu and Chay-Ara to Jurgens Industrial in 24 hours or I will see you dead and buried under the bodies of your loved ones."

He didn't even bother giving them a chance to respond. He was certain of himself and their choice anyways.

~0~

"We have 24 hours," Oliver started off exactly like that, without a readable expression. Everyone in the living room seemed lost.

"Until what exactly?" Kendra asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Until we are supposed to hand you and Carter over to Savage, or-"

Carter all but rolled his eyes. He'd heard this so many times already. "Savage lays waste to Central City. Yeah. We've been through this before. 1887, the Huang He floods, Savage killed nearly two million people to get to us. And he did."

Though the revelation was huge, Plover didn't let it stop them. "We weren't helping you then. We are now. We have 24 hours to come up with a workable plan."

And no matter how much they discussed, it didn't make sense to Kendra. Eventually, she snapped. "No, this is insane! My life isn't worth millions of people's lives! You can all just stop!"

"Kendra!" Carter called as the woman stormed off.

"I'll talk to her," Cisco volunteered but Carter shooed him off. "Hey, I got this-"

Carter once again stopped him but this time with a mere look. "I said, I'll talk to her."

Cisco glared after the man then sourly said, "Hey, here's an idea- why don't we just toss him over to Vandal Savage?"

"Cisco," Caitlin disapprovingly said.

"Fine!"

~ 0~

"Hey," Belén called to Barry - who was inside the shed - but unintentionally startled him. He paused in what seemed to be a back and forth pace. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering where you were since-"

But before she could finish, Cisco pushed past her in a dramatic manner. "-you basically missed the whole, save the city or turn my girlfriend over to an immortal psychopath briefing!"

Belén glared at Cisco's back but rolled her eyes in the end. She'd let it pass since what he said was indeed true.

"Um...sorry…?" Barry said in a questionable manner that forced Cisco to stop his complaining, and even the screwdriver he was about to throw in anger.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Cisco put the screwdriver down on the table.

"Seriously," Belén took full notice of Barry's nervous demeanor. He had his twitching fingers fiddling with each other when he wasn't putting his arms behind his neck...or his hands in his hair. "Can you stay still for a second?"

Barry dropped his arms when he realized what she meant. He'd been doing his best to keep it at bay, but the more he thought about it the more difficult it was to keep it a secret. "I...I don't really know how to say it…"

"Just say it, maybe?" suggested Cisco, earning himself a momentary look of sarcasm from Barry.

"Fine. Um...earlier when I was on my way to meet with Merlyn and Oliver...I ghosted."

"No…" Cisco immediately went, while Belén tried to understand on the first go.

"Yeah, I think I'm going-"

"-don't say it," Cisco wagged a finger at Barry, not that it mattered since Barry went ahead and said it out loud.

"I think I'm going to time jump."

"I just told you not to say it!"

"Cisco!" Belén exclaimed at the man in out rage while Barry apologized.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do!"

"Barry, you're fine, trust me," Belén said first, hoping to ease his guilt but Cisco had something else to say.

"The first rule of time travel is you don't talk about time travel!"

"Cisco!" Belén covered her face in frustration.

"Because by having this conversation, we're screwing history!"

"Cisco! What was he supposed to do? Keep it bottled up?" Belén gestured to Barry's already nervous state. "One more day and he might fall apart."

Barry wanted to argue in his defense, but it'd really only been a few hours and it was already killing him. "Look, I know that time travel has consequences. I mean, the last time you vibed-"

"-well, I'm not vibing anything right now," Cisco said, calmer than before. "Okay, um, all right, look, don't panic. A: you don't know that you time jumped for a bad reason. It could have been a good one, right?" Barry dutifully nodded, really hoping Cisco was right. "B: now that you know you time jumped, you might not do it, right? So knowing the future might change the present, which might change the future."

"My head hurts," Belén rubbed the side of her head, eyes flickering between Cisco and Barry. "How could anyone be attracted to either of you?"

Barry's and Cisco's looks of pure offence were rather amusing for Belén...not that she'd tell them.

"I'm gonna remember that one," Barry decided to warn, but Belén smirked in return.

"What are you going to do? Stop kissing me? Go ahead, we'll see who suffers more," she winked and turned to leave.

She purposely moved away from shed and even the house altogether. Once she felt like she was truly alone, she pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Belén, hello?" Iris' voice soon answered the call.

"Iris, hey! How are things at STAR Labs?"

"Don't worry, Nina and I are holding down the fort," Iris proudly said. Belén could even picture her friend smiling from ear to ear. "How are you guys doing with Savage and that time traveler?"

"Uuh...things could be better," Belén admitted. She brought a finger to scratch behind her ear. "Listen...I wanted to ask a favor."

"Sure thing! What do you guys need?"

"Well, it's not so much of a group necessity as it is...a necessity for _me_ ," Belén hated to admit right now when it was such a time for teamwork.

"Oh, okay, what is it?"

"I...I...I just recently learned that I can maybe meet with other metas who are like me...in another world."

"Really? How so?"

"I see it like Barry and the Speedforce. It's called the Green, and if I can access that world then I can maybe get a further understanding of my powers."

"That sounds cool! How do you access it!?"

"That's the thing. On my own, I'm not sure. I thought maybe if I found another botanical metahuman they could help me. And that's why I'm calling you."

"Okay, what do you need from me?"

Belén looked around as if someone was watching her. She didn't mean for it to be a secret, but right now it wasn't the right time to tell the others. They needed to focus on Savage. "Can you maybe start a research on any other botanical metahumans nearby? Other than Datura and Poison Ivy, of course."

"Of course," Iris repeated, both sharing a laugh afterwards. "I can definitely look into it. Just because we haven't heard about another botanical metahuman doesn't mean they're not out there."

"That's what I'm counting on," Belén sighed. "Because right now I need all the help I can get and this might be huge"

"I'll do my best, don't worry!" Iris promised.

Belén hoped there would be some light down that dark path Datura was leading her. Hopefully, it started with this...with another botanical metahuman.

~ 0 ~

"What do you guys have?" Graciela expectantly asked of Laurel, Thea and Diggle as soon as the trio returned from their unannounced trip.

"Has a simple 'hello' died in the future?" Thea joked, but Graciela looked unamused.

"Yes, that tends to happen when there's a dictator massacring people."

"Could've just said yes," Thea mumbled and moved away.

"We have something that might help us," Laurel pointed to Diggle who raised an old VCR tape.

Graciela looked lost. "What the hell is that?"

"Aw, I didn't know those still existed," Belén remarked as soon as she came in and saw said tape.

"Lyla hooked us up," Diggle explained. Of course ARGUS would hold onto something like that.

"Where's Felicity?" Laurel looked around for the missing blonde.

"Don't know," shrugged Belén. "Just like I don't know where Barry and Oliver are. You know when those two get together, their secret outings get annoying."

"Sounds more like Oliver's doing than Barry," Laurel said. "And you're right, it does get annoying."

"Well we don't need Felicity to play a tape," Thea motioned Diggle to come over to Felicity's laptop. "We'll just hook it up."

"I'll go get the others," Belén said and hurried to go find them. By the time she returned with the whole group, sans the three missing, Thea had successfully gotten the tape to display on the TV.

"The tape came from a conspiracy theory group that's interested in Savage," Diggle explained just before the tape would play. "Pentagon had a file on Savage back in '86, but it's all been heavily redacted."

Thea pressed the play option and soon a dark-skinned man appeared on the screen.

' _My name is Dr. Aldus Boardman. I'm a professor at St. Roch University. The date is April 8th, 1975. I don't think anyone else knows this, and those that do, don't believe. He's a myth. An urban legend. He has been compared to Machiavelli and Nostradamus. He's gone by many names, but I know him as Vandal Savage, and he will be the death of the world. But I believe there is a way to stop him. Savage is an immortal, Egyptian priest. His long life is a result of an unearthly calamity. I believe that any object associated with this calamity should be able to undo its effects and kill him. And I suspect that our precious, fragile world may one day depend upon us doing so.'_

Thea promptly turned the screen off and looked directly at Kendra and Carter. "Do you have any idea what he meant by these objects? This calamity?"

The two in question exchanged mutual confused looks.

"No, I-I don't recall a calamity," Carter answered first. "And the staff…"

"Staff of Horus?" Graciela chimed in. "That staff belonged to Savage back in ancient Egypt."

"How are you sure?" Diggle asked.

"Because I'm from the future and I read a lot?"

Kendra looked down at her feet when a couple images started playing in her mind. Though they were fast, and partly incoherent, she saw that golden staff in Savage's possession. Graciela was right. But she didn't want to admit she was remembering.

Luckily, Graciela always had good self confidence. She knew exactly what she was talking about. "That staff is key to killing Savage. We need to get it."

"Great, let's get it, then," Carter nodded and led the way.

It was dark when Barry, Felicity and Oliver returned to the safe house, though each at a different time. Oliver was the last and the moment he set foot in the field, Felicity caught him. Barry spotted them through a window and wondered what the hell was going on with those two, because one moment Oliver had him doing secret DNA tests and the next thing he knew Felicity was on his case for helping Oliver.

"What are you doing?" a voice startled Barry, making him knock his forehead against the glass. He quickly pulled away before Felicity or Oliver saw and turned around to see Belén standing there.

"What?" he rubbed his forehead.

"You have been secretive today and I feel like a babysitter," Belén stated plainly, thinking it was enough to make him cautious with his response.

"I...I honestly couldn't tell you what was going on because _I_ don't know what's going on," Barry went with the honest truth. He was _not_ going to get in trouble over something he had no part in.

Belén could more or less deduced he was being honest because he did look rather weary. She moved around him and peered out the window to see Felicity and Oliver presumably arguing. "Oh no. That's not good. Especially when we're about to fight an immortal man. What are they fighting about?"

"I don't know. Should we go out there-"

"-oh _no_ ," Belén whirled around, as if to catch him before he got the idea to go. "We are not getting anywhere near that fight. Our mission right now is to make sure Kendra and Carter are ready. Besides, it's a couple fight and...they're not really asking for opinions, are they?"

Barry gave a shrug. She was right. Oliver had been really secretive with that DNA test, making him swear to keep it from Felicity (which he failed but that's not the point). "Fine."

A couple minutes later, Oliver and Felicity came into the house but made beelines away from each other. One could only deduce that the argument did not end in good terms.

"We're coming up on Savage's deadline," Oliver took control of the group the moment he could. "Are the gauntlets working?"

"They have to be, we're out of time," Caitlin said after checking the clock in the living room.

"But I think they'll work," Cisco said in hopes of adding positivity to the mission. "That staff's going to go from "can't touch this" to "invisible touch."

"Savage doesn't know Kendra has access to her full abilities, which makes you our ace in the hole," Oliver's intense gaze on her made Kendra feel even worse. She felt nowhere near ready to fight, but there wasn't much of an option now was there?

"Okay," she nodded quietly.

"We're going to put you up against Savage; you attack with the element of surprise. I will lay down the cover fire. Barry, you speed in, and-"

"-snatch the staff, I got it," Barry said.

"So where do you need us?" asked Diggle.

"This is me, Barry, Kendra and Carter. We've got it."

There were various reactions from the group, but all seem to fall in a mutual disagreement.

"You can't sit us out," Belén frowned.

"No, we're not risking any more lives tonight than we have to," Oliver's tone hardened even more.

"I don't know how you run in the past, but I'm not following it," Graciela stepped forwards. "You can sit the rest out but I'm not doing it."

"It's not up for debate-"

Graciela's eyes flashed an angry purple, making the pipes of the house creak. Everyone around her, more so Felicity and Cisco, looked up in fear. "-you're right, it's not, cos I'm going."

Oliver stared her down but he had come to his match because she was not wavering. She knew exactly how these things went and she had enough practice as a crook to have her own strength.

"Let's go!" Graciela shouted to the others, choosing not to waste any more time.

However, even though she was on board the others were still more cautious.

"I think we can stay as backup," Belén was the one to say to Barry in the end. "I mean, I'd love to be there up front but...Savage might not realize it."

"Just don't tell that to Oliver," Barry muttered, watching Oliver head out the house. "He's out of it."

"Yeah, I really wish I knew what they fought about," Belén crossed her arms. "But look, right now we just gotta focus on Savage. Be careful, alright?"

Barry nodded. "You too."

"I've got the Black Canary on my side. I'll be good," Belén smiled cheerily. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, sending him on his way.

~ 0 ~

Savage was waiting in the warehouse just like he said he would. A sinister grin spread across his face when he spotted Oliver and Barry bringing in Kendra and Carter, the two wearing their suits as well.

"You brought them. And dressed for the occasion, I see," Savage moved forwards.

"We're only doing this because two lives aren't worth two cities," Oliver said.

"Well, in that case, you are wiser than I gave you credit for." Savage took a moment to look Kendra and Carter over, scoffing a minute later. "It's been a lifetime. Still wearing those ridiculous outfits, I see." He raised a finger to Oliver and Barry. "You don't need to be here for this. The culling has a tendency to be…" He paused as he drew a sharpened knife from his coat's inside pocket, "...unsightly." He turned the knife over for show, making sure both Kendra and Carter got a good look at what was coming. "Your new friends betrayed you."

"Just do what you're going to do," Carter snapped.

Savage smiled at Kendra, practically ignoring Carter. "It's wonderful to see you again, my love."

Kendra felt true disgust at the man. "I will never be your love."

"I know. That always makes this...easier. Chay-Ara, parting is such sweet sorrow." Savage raised the knife and offered Kendra one last smile before drawing it down.

"Now, Kendra!" Oliver screamed.

Kendra delivered a hard kick to Savage's stomach, knocking the man to the ground. She opened her arms, ready to become that weird warrior she was destined to be...but nothing came out. Graciela dropped in from the ceiling and shot a beam of purple energy to keep Savage down while Oliver prepared the gauntlets.

"LET'S GO!" she shouted.

Carter swiped the staff from Savage and tossed it over to Barry who, in turn, handed it to Oliver so that the gauntlets could make contact. A powerful blast erupted from the gauntlets immediately. It made Oliver stumble back but he kept his balance in the end. However, with all the energy hitting him, Savage was still able to get on his feet.

"Crap!" Graciela said just before Savage knocked her to the side with his own magic. Her body tumbled across the warehouse, only picking her head up in time to see him grab Carter's neck and stab him on the back.

Barry started speeding in a circle to create quick thunder, but Savage caught him midway with another blast. The speedster crashed into a set of metal machinery. Like Graciela, he looked up in time to watch Savage stab Kendra on the chest in one swift move.

"No! It's not working!" Graciela scrambled to get on her feet. Her eyes were a dark, almost demonic purple, as she made a run at Savage. The metal around her groaned as its properties were being forced to change at her will.

"Graciela!" Barry called, but at the same time the metal behind him pushed forwards. He barely escaped as it took Savage's body for a ride until Savage destroyed it with a hand movement. "What the hell…" Barry was truly tired of this magic business because he had no idea how to combat it.

He heard Oliver's groans and turned to see him still holding onto the staff and the gauntlets. "Oh God." His eyes widened because Oliver was starting to resemble an old man. The gauntlets and the staff combined seemed to be drawing Oliver's life source. "Oliver, let go!" he panicked when he was able to see bone.

"Barry? What's going on?" Belén's voice came through the ear pods.

"Oliver?" Laurel came in next. "We're coming in!"

"No! Don't!" Barry sped up beside Oliver. "Kendra and Carter are dead!"

"We're coming in!" Belén and Laurel said in unison.

"Please don't-" Barry couldn't finish on account of Graciela crashing into him.

Savage stretched an arm out for Oliver, but only attained his staff again. At the same time, both Belén and Laurel came running in to help.

"This isn't going to end well!" Graciela picked herself off Barry and looked back at Savage. "I know about this - Barry you have to time travel!" she said in quick whir, almost making Barry miss it.

"I have to what-"

"-A DO OVER! GO!" Graciela's scream came just as Savage plunged his staff into the ground, causing an eruption of bright blue energy. It wiped out everything around it, and before Barry knew what he was doing, he ran.

He didn't know what the hell was going on except that everything around him was being burned to death. His first thought went to Belén and the others. _They'redeadthey'redeadthey'read_.

But Graciela's last words came to mind: a do over. Time travel.

And that's when he remembered the 'ghosting'. All his previous fears of time traveling and causing a disturbance in the time lines went to hell. He needed to push himself or everything would be dead.

 _Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrun_. Barry went as fast as he could. The blue eradication behind him nearly caught him a few times but he was going to do it. Everything around him became a blue, but only for a few seconds did he see the 'ghost' of his past self running beside him. It disappeared within seconds...and as did the blurry world.

Barry came to a skidded stop in the same place Malcolm Merlyn wanted to meet.

"Thank you for coming…" he heard Oliver's voice, though it still sounded a bit garbled after all the running Barry did.

But once Barry saw the day was still early...he released a heavy breath.

A do over.

~ 0 ~

"What the hell is the Green?" Belén called out to Graciela after their odd conversation. She should've known talking to a future girl was not going to end well, but here she was doing what she could to help out. She turned in the opposite direction Graciela walked off to and started making her own way. She only stopped when she saw Oliver and Barry returning to the safe house after their meet up with Merlyn. "They're back!" she called to Kendra and Carter, forcing the two to stop their training (which, by the sounds of it, was not going well). She sprinted to get there first, and perhaps it was a good thing because Barry was not intending on keeping his time travel a secret. "Hey! What did Merlyn say?"

"Belén!" Barry forgot for a moment what he'd told Oliver and rushed to Belén. She was not expecting such a tight, needy hug but she would always accept one.

"Okay, what's wrong?" she patted his back and looked over his shoulder to Oliver. He had a face as well, like he was processing something.

"He time traveled," Oliver was the one to answer.

Belén's eyes widened in alarm, but even if she wanted to pull away from Barry to look at him...Barry wasn't budging. He pressed a kiss to her hair and held her tight. "Barry, you did what?" she pressed her hands against his chest to pull away. "Barry!"

With a groan, he finally let her go the amount she needed to see him face to face. "Yeah…"

"You're not supposed to do that…"

"Well, Graciela did it-"

"-yeah, and she's probably going to get into trouble. Believe me, I just learned she stole the time travelling watch on her wrist. Why'd you time travel?"

Barry lowered his arms to his sides and turned sideways so that he could talk to both her and Oliver. "We were fighting Savage but things didn't go so well. Everyone died...including you two."

"Oh…" Belén now understood his needy hug and felt the urge to hug him again.

"Graciela was the one to tell me to time travel and...I did," Barry rubbed the back of his neck. "She said she knew what was coming."

"She's from the future, of course she knew that," Oliver sighed.

"Look, what we were doing to fight Savage wasn't working. The gauntlets didn't work and Kendra couldn't access her powers. Savage killed them both and used his staff to create the explosion that killed everything."

"Okay, okay, we can work with this," Belén nodded, choosing to forget the death part right away. It technically didn't happen and she was just going think about that. "It's like when you discovered you went back in time to your mom. We use this as a study guide. We fix our mistakes."

"Right," Barry agreed and turned specifically to Oliver. "That means you, for starters."

"Me?" frowned the man in question.

"When we go up against Savage, your head's not in the game. You're not yourself. And I'm sorry to say this in front of Belén because I don't know if you were planning on telling anyone about it, but...I know you're going to ask me run a DNA test."

Oliver stiffened, ignoring Belén's strange look.

"That said test is going to cause you and Felicity to get into a huge fight. That fight sounded like it was over between you two."

"So when we go up against Savage, I'm not focused," Oliver concluded on his own. "I don't use everything we've got."

"What are we going to about the Kendra not being able to use her powers?" Belén quietly asked. "And the gauntlets?"

"I'll work on that," Oliver muttered, quietly thanking Barry for his knowledge of the future and walking off.

"Someone should tell Graciela," Belén said once they were alone. "She's already time traveled once, who knows what this might mean."

"That we failed?" Barry started for the house, rather glum now that he had time to settle. "She knew exactly what was going to happen when Savage took his staff, so this must have happened before."

"Which is exactly why we need to discuss with her. Maybe she has some pointers too," Belén picked up her pace and beat him to the front door, blocking his way in. "Let's make sure we don't make the same mistakes again."

"I won't," Barry promised her. A warm smile came to her face knowing what he meant. "I had to run and when I did...you were already dead…"

"Not happening again," she leaned forwards and gently kissed his lips. "Now let's do this...again…"

~ 0 ~

With the knowledge of their failed attempt to win Savage, the group worked harder than the first time. Cisco and Caitlin triple checked those gauntlets, and would have gone for a fourth had Oliver not convinced Cisco to try his hand at helping Kendra access her powers. The only one who seemed to be having trouble with the news, more than the others anyways, was Graciela.

"I mean, we'll get him this time," Barry attempted to ease her doubts before they gathered for another brief. Well, it was really more of a group effort with him, Oliver and Belén.

Graciela shook her head, looking far more concerned but it was pertaining to the fight against Savage. "You don't get it. You time traveled in the same period I did. That means _they_ felt it."

"They? Who's they?" Oliver asked.

Graciela seemed reluctant to speak freely, but then again her options weren't so good anyways. She drew in a breath and leaned against the dining table. "The people I stole the watch from. They're Time Masters and...they have eyes all over the timeline. I knew that time travelling here would get me into some trouble, but I figured I'd have more time to finish things...but Barry time travelling in the same period I did, so close to the date I first arrived...they're coming for me, quicker now."

"Then we'll stop them," Belén said matter-of-factly, but Graciela shook her head.

"No, we're focusing on Savage. I want him dead by tonight."

"But if you're head's not in the right place, we won't be able to do that," Barry said, knowing exactly where he spoke from.

"I know," Graciela agreed. She took in a deep breath and used it to relax herself as much as she could. "I read about Savage's staff in the future. There were rumors that the timeline had been rewritten several times because he did the same trick. The Time Masters...they're very good when they want to be. They've restored the timeline, but...we can't let Savage do that again. For the sake of my home, and yours, he needs to die tonight."

"And I think I know how to make that happen," Kendra strode into the house with a new sense of confidence. Cisco seemed pretty happy as well, indicating his talk with her had gone well.

"I'm all ears," Graciela leaned off the table.

Kendra made sure the rest of the group were in the room so that she could explain herself. "I remembered how Savage killed us the first time back in Egypt. These sky rocks-meteors- they fell and they completely destroyed the royal palace."

"During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt experienced a high level of meteorite activity," Felicity recalled from her vast knowledge.

"That can be the calamity Professor Boardman was referencing in the tape," Caitlin realized quick.

"It makes sense," Kendra agreed. "The meteors, they had a glow about them. And Savage's staff had two gemstones with the exact same glow."

"So the gemstones might be made up of the same element as the meteorite," Barry made the connection as well. "That could be why the gauntlets didn't work the first time."

"Yeah, the gemstones might be made up of the same element as the meteorite. The Egyptians would use meteorite in their craftsmanship. And the minerals glow in proximity to each other," Cisco suddenly grinned when he got to add, "Like Sankara Stones."

"Oh, wait, the Indiana Jones reference is the only thing I understood," Thea looked to someone for help.

"Two pieces of the same meteorite, that is the key to counteracting the staff," Belén was proud to say that she understood.

Laurel got on her laptop fast when she remembered something about meteorites from their previous research on Egypt and Savage. "Look, there's there's a sample of the meteorite from the Middle Kingdom at the Keystone City Museum of Natural…"

But Barry took off without another word, leaving a wind trail behind him. He returned two seconds later with the meteorite in hand. "Got it!"

Cisco snatched it from his hand, gingerly holding it while he examined it. "I could synthesize the compatible isotope out of this and coat the gauntlets with it."

"That I did not understand," Belén mumbled to Thea who agreed with a hum.

"This can work," Graciela said with a newfound confidence. It was good because she knew by this time she was reaching high on the Time Master's priority list.

"It will," Oliver agreed. "Everyone else: suit up."

~ 0 ~

Like before, Savage was waiting for the group to arrive at the agreed place. However this time, everyone was ready for the 'trade off'.

"It's wonderful to see you again, my love," he said for Kendra, who shivered in disgust.

"I will never be your love."

"I know. That always makes this easier. Chay-Ara...parting is such sweet sorrow-"

But Kendra could not wait for him to finish. Oliver drew an arrow and shot the knife right out of Savage's hand.

Kendra immediately followed with her wings, and perhaps a hawk scream. She took Savage into her arms and pulled him into the air before dumping him on the ground. A black van screeched as it made its entrance into the building, making a quick swerve so that it's trunk faced the fight.

As soon as its doors flung open, the Black Canary's sonic scream filled the room. It forced Savage to stop fighting against Kendra and Carter for a second and fight off the sound waves.

It was then that Belén flung a vine and forced the staff out of Savage's hand. He growled and turned to retrieve it but Graciela delivered a consecutive wave of energy beams. Despite Savage's attempts to fight off the energy, he couldn't break free of the others' combats. It gave Barry the perfect shot to retrieve the staff from where it landed.

"Get clear!" he ordered. The group jumped out of the way just as he ignored the staff with the gauntlets. Savage was hit with the force of power, but it wasn't enough yet to take him down. He fought it with his bare hands.

Oliver joined Barry and together held the staff, hoping that between them it would be enough to stand against Savage. The others encircled the procession in case anything went wrong...but to their fortune...it didn't. The staff erupted with a new force of energy and burned Savage to ash.

Before Barry and Oliver knew it, the staff was no longer in their hands. It had disappeared.

"Did we do it? Is he gone?" Thea stared at the ash as if Savage was reform any second.

"Grace?" Belén nicknamed the woman without even noticing.

"I don't know, it's never happened…" Graciela admitted and turned her attention to Kendra and Carter for some additional help.

But like her, they were at a loss of words.

~0~

It was a beautiful day at Central City, especially when it was rid of villainous immortal beings.

"One Java chip and caramel macchiato for Belén!" a Jitters barista called as she pushed two coffee cups down the counter.

Belén was there to pick them up and return to the group waiting by the doors with their own drinks.

"Thanks," Graciela took her Java chip and took a moment to smell the sweet chocolatey scent. "Mmm, we don't have that smell at home anymore."

"Hopefully now you do," Kendra smiled, knowing Graciela was getting ready to return to the future.

"We'll see," Graciela raised her cup in the air before taking a sip. She moaned as she tasted the delicious drink. "Oh my God this is good!"

"So how do you feel now that Savage is pushing daisies?" Cisco asked Kendra and Carter once they were outside. "Does this mean you guys are the immortal ones now and he's the one who gets reincarnated? 'Cause that would suck."

"I just sprouted wings a few days ago, and I'm just trying to wrap my head around that," Kendra said, really just taking step by step.

"He does raise a good point, though," Barry admitted. It'd been the question they couldn't answer since last night. "Savage is gone for good now, right?"

"I don't know. We never defeated him before," Carter paused to think about something else they hadn't yet. "But we're free." Kendra agreed and hugged him.

"Ugh, get a room," Cisco muttered. Belén partes his back comfortingly, knowing he was doing his best to keep his feelings out of this.

"You finally have the rest of your lives in front of you. Have you thought about what you're going to do?" asked Oliver.

"Carter says in our past lives, we used to help people. And after everything you guys have done for me, I think I should give that a try," Kendra said with a sense of determination.

"You make it sound like this try is happening somewhere else," Belén noted, feeling worse for Cisco.

"In our prior incarnation, we used to live in St. Roch, and we really liked it there," Carter looked at Kendra, but she was already gazing at Cisco.

"Could Cisco and I have a moment?" she asked softly.

"Of course," Carter was the one to say and led the way away.

Graciela ominously checked her time watch and saw a red dot blinking on the screen. She quietly cleared her throat and took another sip of her coffee.

"Hey Grace - sorry," Belén has caught herself before and she hated that she kept doing it.

"It's fine," Graciela smiled. "I kinda like it."

"I was just going to ask...about that place you talked about before?" Belén awkwardly smiled. "The Green?"

"Right," Graciela released a breath, giving the wrong indication that she didn't want to go further on that subject.

"I mean I totally understand if you're trying to keep the timeline in tact and all...we don't have to-"

"-no, we can," Graciela looked at the whole group with a smirk. "It's not like I was one for keeping it intact, right?"

"Still…"

"Look, Belén, I'm not an expert on the Green. I just read about it, from your article I'll remind, and there's always rumors about it. Every botanical metahuman has a connection to that place."

"How do you get there, though?"

"You command it with the mind but you physically go in," Graciela shrugged. "I think it's just up to you to access it."

"Oh, well, that should be easy," Belén sighed.

Barry placed a hand on her shoulder. "And she'll get it. Because she always does."

"Thanks for the support," Belén languidly said and drank dejectedly from her coffee.

"So what are you going to do now?" Oliver inquired from Graciela. "Go back home? Or…"

Graciela didn't tell them she heard the alert on her watch getting louder, they'd soon see for themselves. "Home. I don't belong in this time and...I knew what was going to happen when I stole the time watch."

"About that..." Barry was cautious in how he spoke about the matter, "...the people you stole it from...are they going to be okay with that? I mean, you said your friend, right?"

"I don't regret it," Graciela reiterated, though now she was looking past the two metas. They, along with Oliver, followed her gaze to see a portal opening and letting in a group of uniformed men and women.

"Who are they?" Oliver narrowed his eyes on what he perceived as the threat.

"The Time Masters, coming to collect their prisoner," Graciela drank the last of her coffee and dumped it into the trash bin behind her.

"Graciela Haynez," a man from the group called as he led the way. "You are under arrest for theft and illegal time traveling." Just as Graciela was raising her hands, the man yanked her arms harshly and turned her around to cuff her from behind.

"What are you doing to her?" demanded Barry, ready to step forwards when Graciela called for them to stay still.

"It's okay! Don't do anything!" she faced the man that shot her with a glower. "It was worth it. The Time Masters' organization is a sham. It's full of convenience."

"And yet you fraternize with two of ours," the man behind her made sure to say loudly, as if it would shame her into silence. "You calling them fake as well?"

Graciela rolled her eyes. "They're my friends, and they're genuine, but they don't have the power to change the entire system. So I took it into my own hands. And now I'm ready to face the consequences."

"Graciela Haynez, ," the man pushed her to turn for the portal, but she fought to turn around and face him. "You have changed the timelines without consent-"

"-I don't care!" she snapped and smacked his chest with her shoulder.

"You also have murder on your tracklist, according to London's authorities-"

"-and!?"

"Barry, they're hurting her!" Belén attempted to move but Barry and even Oliver held onto each of her arms.

"She said not to," Oliver reminded, but it was hard to watch knowing how it was going to end.

The group had moved in on Graciela, each attempting to subdue her. Despite being cuffed, Graciela did put up a fight.

"I'm not resisting! I just want to say goodbye!" she yelled frantically. "That's my legal right, isn't it? Or has your corrupted system taken that out as well?"

The Time Masters seemed unsure and looked to their leader for a command. The leader, in turn, noticed the people around them starting to stare. He gave a nod for them to pick Graciela up and give her what she wanted. Once she was back on her feet, two of them held her arms and walked her up to the trio.

"What's going to happen to you?" Belén asked, her eyes flickering to the dangerous-looking people behind Graciela.

Graciela shrugged, returning to normal within the second as if things weren't going down like this. "I'm going to jail."

"And you say it just like that?"

"Because that's what she was always going to do," Oliver realized,

Belén whipped her head in his direction. "What?"

"He's right," Graciela nodded. "It was the plan. I said it."

"But why?" Belén found herself asking. And to be fair, it was a good question. Graciela had the means to run and hide after all. "That watch can take you anywhere."

"I also said I stole it from a friend that I...deeply care about," Graciela's eyes lowered for a minute. It gave enough indication of just how much she cared for this friend. "If I know this... organization enough, then I know they're probably dragging him through the mud thinking he gave me the watch in secret."

"You're clearing his name by putting yourself in jail," Barry nodded.

"I love him. I can't do that to him," Graciela nodded to herself. She would never openly admit that but she wasn't ever going to see any of these people again. "He's one of the two who are honestly trying to help people, unlike this lot."

"Will we ever see you again?" Belén assumed she knew the answer, but she had to try.

Graciela shook her head. "Probably not. But it was really cool meeting you guys." A big grin came to her face. "I always read about the metas from the 21st century. I think you guys are the most famous, honestly. The Azalea, the Flash and the Arrow - not to mention Supergirl and Solar? You guys are awesome. And for a crook like me to actually get to fight alongside you guys...it gives hope that maybe one day a new Jinx might take up the mantle and do some good."

"Let's go," called the leader.

"Bye guys," Graciela offered a smile before she was forced to turn around.

"No, wait!" Belén called but it was too late.

Graciela was forced through the portal with all the Time Masters around her as if she would escape. In two seconds she was gone with no trace after her. It was as if things never happened.

~0~

After saying goodbye to everyone else, and boy was it a decent amount of people, Belén was ready to return home. Home sweet home. But after such an intense two days, it was a bit difficult to unwind and just...be normal again.

"Not hungry?" Barry asked two times before Belén finally heard him. They were at her apartment, attempting to have a normal dinner that night. Things weren't going that well.

Belén stopped picking at her plate and put her fork down. "Sorry. I'm tired...and I just can't stop thinking about…"

"Grace?" Barry finished for her and got a nod from her.

"It's too bad her nickname caught on after she got sent to jail," Belén sighed and pushed her plate away. "I'm sorry. Thanks for dinner but I'm not very hungry."

"Yeah, I see that," Barry got up from his seat and moved to Belén's chair. He held his hand out for her and pulled her up from her seat. "And I'm sorry I can't do anything to help you."

"I'm not the one that needs help," Belén pointed out. "It's Graciela. I mean, she helped us take down Vandal Savage and what's her prize? Jail."

"Belén, she stole a time watch and she time traveled illegally. Those are crimes in her time," Barry sighed. "I mean I know I should look at who's talking, but…"

"I know," Belén nodded, but it didn't make it easy to deal with. "I just think it's not fair."

Barry took her to the living room and sat down on the couch. He gently pulled her body onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kind of puts our morals into question, doesn't it?" Belén rested her head over his shoulder. Her light breathing tickled Barry's neck. "She did a bad thing to do a good thing. And from what I got, she used to do bad things but she turned a new leaf. I hope she's being treated decently."

"Mhm," Barry pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Belén let a few minutes pass in silence. Her body was tired, as was her mind in general. She felt so comfortable with Barry right now, she didn't want it to end. "Hey Barry, can you stay tonight?" she picked her head up and brought a hand to his shoulder.

Barry didn't want to say it out loud but staying overnight was something they both needed. She died in an alternate timeline, after all. The burning blue behind him wasn't something he could forget so easily.

"Just...to sleep, just sleeping," Belén said after a minute passed without Barry's response. They hadn't really stayed in the same bedroom since they fought the Reverse Flash, but even then it'd only been to sleep, nothing more.

Barry felt his face warm up but he quickly nodded in an attempt to hide it. "Yeah, of course. Just to sleep. Sleeping is good. Good, good, good…"

A smile came to Belén's face, as well as a light chuckle. "Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too," Barry smiled with her. He tucked some of her hair behind her ear and kissed her.

~0~

Graciela was pushed down into a rusty, metal chair of an interrogation room. Her wrists were forced down on the table and kept there like magnets.

"Do we really have to go through this when I am pleading guilty?" she raised an eyebrow at the Time Master in front of her. "I just needed a chance to clear up any mistakes in your file."

"We already know what happened," the man said matter-of-factly. "The Time watch in your possession belonged to our fellow Time Master, Rip Hunter. Question is, how'd you convince him to hand it to you?"

Graciela didn't know whether to laugh at how ridiculous that was, or cry out of frustration that she had to once again repeat her entire guilty plead. "You're kidding right? _I_ thought of a plan and I executed it on my own. Rip didn't have anything to do with this and the idea that he willingly gave up his watch is laughable." The Time Master stared long and hard at her while he deduced whether or not she was being honest. Graciela just smirked in the end because no matter much trouble she was in, it was damn worth it. "I did what you all wouldn't. A Jinx might have saved the world. Vandal Savage is dead."

The man across her did not seemed fazed. "Is he, though?"

Graciela's smirk faltered. "What?"

"Vandal Savage is crucial to our timeline, to our world. You cannot kill him."

By now, Graciela's smirk was gone. "What - what are you talking about?"

"He will live, because he is meant to." The Time Master snapped his fingers and the interrogation room door opened. "Because this is only the beginning of things. You did exactly what you were supposed to do, what we saw you doing."

"You don't - you can't say that! He's dead!" Graciela started pulling at her wrist binds, essentially pulling at the table. "He's dead!"

"He _lives_ ," the man reiterated with such confidence it rocked Graciela to the core.

"NO!" she started screaming when two men entered the room to unbind her from the table to take her away. "STOP! HE CAN'T LIVE! Not after what we did! STOOOP!"

Her echoes carried out even as she was dragged away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And that concludes this prequel to Graciela's story! I plan to have her story, which I hope everyone guessed by now will be part of the Legends of Tomorrow fandom, up when this story finishes. Maybe a little earlier who knows. But please, please, please let me know what you think of Grace. She's probably going to be the most different Arrowverse OC I've written, and I really mean it down to her way of fighting and personality!

And just to throw it out there, Graciela is OC #2 out of 3 total Arrowverse OCs. Can you guess what world is our next one from? She'll be making her debut in this story as well, a couple chapters down!

But on another note, our girl Belén finally has some way to fight Datura again. Hopefully she's able to get into the Green soon! P.S the Green is taken from the DC world but, as usual, will be twisted to fit my world!


	11. Black Orchid

"So...Mom knows about you?" Maritza watched her sister's uncomfortable form on the other side of the glass. Belén gave a silent nod of her head. She'd told Maritza about her mother finding out, in the worst way possible, she was the Azalea. "Gosh, Belén...she didn't take it well, did she?"

Belén shook her head. "Nope. She's moved on from the 'I'm ignoring you' phase and she's onto full fledged anger."

"I think the word 'metahuman' is just tarnished for her after everything that's happened," Maritza said, though in no way did she mean to give their mother a pass on her behavior. "I'm sorry."

"No, this one's not on you. It's on me," Belén sighed. "I thought that maybe after telling her my secret, things between us might start getting better again, but…"

"I'm sorry," Maritza felt the need to say again. After everything Belén had told her, going from their mother's challenging personality to the metahumans hunting them down...Maritza could only say 'sorry'. She wished, _wished_ , that she could do something to help Belén but her past choices have prohibited her from. "I really wish I could help you out there."

Belén found it in her to smile. She didn't know how, or when, but coming to see Maritza had stopped being a chore and more like...a way to relieve stress. She could tell Maritza everything that was going on and not be judged. She hadn't quite forgiven Maritza for everything she did last year, but...Belén could say she was getting there.

Feeling her phone buzz inside her pocket, Belén gave it a quick check and found a text from Iris. She had to say goodbye to Maritza in order to meet back at STAR Labs.

~ 0 ~

Iris had done her job as best as she could and when she wanted to, she could almost be like a spy the way she found information on people. She had pulled up a profile of a woman dressed in a black and magenta suit with a over-sized jacket. Soon as Cisco saw the picture he let out a wolf whistle, along with questions about her specific clothing choice.

"This is why I do the suits, just saying," he raised his hands to show he was just making a statement...a true statement.

"Who are we looking at, Iris?" Belén asked, brown eyes already scanning the woman's picture till it burned in her mind.

"She calls herself Black Orchid," Iris began. She rose from her seat and zoomed in on the picture of woman. "As far as anyone knows, she's a meta with - guess - plant-based powers who usually appears in the lower parts of the city."

"The slummy parts?" Barry figured that would be the best place to lay low and still make a name for themselves.

"She's not known for always appearing when needed, but she's still known enough to have search engine results," Iris scrolled through some of her pictures, stopping at a familiar tab. "This is actually from my old blog. People still send me stuff and take a look at the date for this post."

Belén walked up to the screen to find the date stamp. The picture was of Black Orchid holding up one, no doubt, petty thief in her arms in front of a crowd of people. "That's last month." She turned sideways, one finger pointed behind her at the picture. "She's an active meta, then."

"It's been weeks since her last appearance but do you know what's interesting about that too? It's right around the time Datura and you fought for the first time."

"Could it be that's she's scared of Datura, then?" Caitlin's theory made sense since pretty much everyone in the room feared the siphoner.

"It also means she's keeping up with the news and thus still very much in the city," Barry crossed his arms.

"So, why exactly are we looking for this girl?" Cisco made the question he'd been dying to ask ever since Iris made them gather in the cortex.

Belén walked back to the main desk and put her arms over them, nervous for some reason. It wasn't like her friends would call her crazy for what she wanted to do, after all. "Graciela mentioned a place to me - the Green - that I could use to contact other metahumans that are like me. It's a place like the Speedforce, if you will, where I could train and...meet metas like me. Meta who could help me get better so that I can fight Datura and actually stand a chance."

"And you think Black Orchid will be that meta?" Cisco languidly pointed at the picture on the screen.

"With any luck, she's got a better handle on her powers," Belén shrugged. "And I can pretty much use any help I can get."

"It's worth a shot," Barry agreed with her. "We just have to find her and bring her in."

"Like...here?" Caitlin blinked. She hadn't made that connection until now. "Do we think that'd be a good idea? Revealing where the Azalea and the Flash work?"

"She's obviously taking on crime already," Iris gestured to the pictures she'd collected. "She could be a good addition to the team."

"Black Orchid was a villain on my Earth before she disappeared," Harry startled the group from behind. He'd come in as quiet as usual and strode down the room with purpose. He came to a stop in front of the pictures on the screen and gazed at them for a few seconds. "You should be careful. She's as toxic as you, Belén."

"But she's not a villain here, clearly," Belén said. "And I actually need her to be toxic, okay?"

Harry turned sideways, giving them all a look that said 'you're all idiots and are going to get killed'. "Bringing in more metahumans into this is only going to blow up in your face. You want to take Datura down? You kill her already."

"Easier said than done," Belén folded her arms. "And I'm not exactly looking to kill her."

"She is with you."

"Okay," Barry cut in before Harry's imprudence got worse. "Thank you, Harry, for your input but this is something Belén wants to do. I support her and so does everyone else."

Harry scoffed lightly. "Course you do. Cos you're all idiots."

"Do you have a better idea?" Cisco called from behind. "No?" he let a few more seconds of silence pass by before saying, "Then hush!"

"Thanks guys," Belén sent her friends a warm smile. "And thanks Iris for searching. My head's been all over the place, so…"

Iris nodded at her. "Any time. I can keep looking if you want."

"I say we focus on Black Orchid right now," Belén glanced at the screen. "We need to find her, so...yeah. Let's focus on where she appears most."

As the group made plans to continue searching for Black Orchid, eventually dispersing from the room, Harry inched closer to the super suits left on display. He looked over his shoulder to make sure he was alone in the room then yanked off Belén's suit tracker. He then gingerly planted a decoy in its place. _For Jessie_.

~ 0 ~

Datura swiftly caught Belén's suit tracker with both her hands and squealed with genuine delight. "Finally!" She held the small device between her fingers and clicked her tongue. "Now the game can finally start!"

Harry stood across her in the alley, his face blank of any expression. "My daughter is safe, right?"

Datura lowered her hand and offered one sneaky smile. "Sure. I do remember to feed her once in a while." She waited for his reaction but he stood frigid. "Don't like my joke? Fine. So-" she tucked the suit tracker into her pocket, "-what's my dear Belén up to now?"

Harry stayed quiet for a few minutes. He hated this so much. A snitch. That's what he was reduced to by some 25 year old in a leather suit. Not just that but a thief and a traitor.

"Wells?" Datura's voice darkened, as did the part of her face Harry could see with her mask. "I need to know what Belén is up to. I might just forget to give Jesse some dinner today."

The mention of his daughter made the man finally move from his stance. "She's looking for the metahuman, Black Orchid."

Datura snorted. "Killed her off a while ago," she mumbled. Her dark eyes met his surprised gaze and caused another sneaky smile to spread across her face. "What? You didn't know that one? Offed her months ago."

"Why?" Harry asked wearily. He would love to finally know what she was planning, what Zoom was planning...but learning that would mean he'd die seconds later.

"She was in my way and I thought she would be the one," Datura's cryptic answer was almost like she hadn't answered at all. All Harry got from that was it just another fight between criminals. "Anyways," she played with one of her long curls, "Let Belén find the doppelganger. No matter how hard she trains she'll never be better than me. It's just impossible." She turned to leave but stopped to give Harry one more warning, "By the way, Zoom might be requiring something from you soon."

At that, Harry gulped.

~ 0 ~

"I think we got a pretty good location, don't you think?" Iris glanced back at Belén to see the woman staring down at the kitchen table that held all of their information on Black Orchid.

They were in Belén's apartment, scouring through every last detail they could find of their meta. Together, they'd found more pictures of Black Orchid, some even when she was in the middle of some pretty gruesome fights.

"She's pretty much all over the slummy streets but, if I counted right, she's appeared at this intersection more than the others," Belén picked up a picture of an intersection that happened to hold a pretty cruddy-looking bar. "I bet you that bar is where we'll find out more about her."

"You want to go there?" Iris made a face at the picture. It was only a picture and it already scared her.

"It's okay, I can go by myself," Belén's reassurance didn't exactly help Iris because she didn't want Belén going there by herself either.

But someone knocked on the door, preventing Iris from voicing these opinions out loud. Belén let the picture back on the table and went to go open the door.

"Mom?" she blinked in surprise to see Veronica. Of course, when the surprise faded she was pretty relieved - and perhaps partly excited - to see her. "Come in!"

Veronica, in her part, still looked pretty unsure of herself. She walked in and gave a brief, small smile at Iris. "You're busy…"

"Yeah, but, don't worry. You wanted to talk?" Belén's excitement did not go unnoticed by Veronica.

With a sigh, Veronica shrugged. "I would like to, but...I don't know if it'll change things." She walked towards the kitchen and noticed all the papers sprawled across the table. "Were you two working?"

Iris didn't know what to respond with. She looked to Belén for some help, or clues, as to what to say. Would Belén want to disclose what they were actually doing or keep it away from Veronica?

"Yeah, we're looking for someone," Belén came to stand beside her mother, looking pretty unsure herself.

"A meta?" the distaste in Veronica's tone was clear for anyone to pick up on. She picked up a photograph of Black Orchid and frowned. "So you're really deep into this metahuman world."

"I have to be, Mom. I'm one of them," Belén said quietly and with eyes boring onto her mother's face for a reaction.

"Don't…" Veronica seemed to shiver at the reminder of Belén's metahuman side. "I wish you wouldn't say that so openly."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"Yes, but…" Veronica stopped and glanced at Iris. Just as the reporter was about to announce her departure, Veronica caught her off guard with a question. "How do you let her do this? How can you just let Belén go into this dangerous world and be okay with it?"

"Mom!" Belén exclaimed disapprovingly, but Iris was good with quick responses thanks to her line of work.

"Because it's her choice and, to be honest, she's a perfect fit for the job," Iris crossed her arms. "She and Barry are the perfect people to protect us. And people like us-" she pointed at herself then Veronica, "-have a duty to help them wherever we can. That includes being supportive."

Veronica's face was indescribable. On some part, she seemed impressed with the response...but then another part was angry Iris wasn't taking her side. "Well...you would say that," she said in the end in a low mumble, "Barry's your brother...does Joe know about this?" Iris didn't have to say or do anything for Veronica to know. "Course he does because he's your father."

"Mom, I thought we were going to talk…" Belén inwardly sighed. She should've known that Veronica would not get over this so quickly. At least there was no shouting this time.

"Belén, I just don't understand why you are so fixated on this...this world!"

"Because it's _my_ world, mom. And I can't abandon it when there's so many people that could get hurt if I do."

Veronica shook her head. "I-I think we need to continue this another day because…"

Belén didn't want to keep pausing this argument because every time they did, it just dragged on the feelings more. But she also feared that if they kept going in one go, they really would just end up shouting at each other like the other times. At least this case seemed to be so grave for Veronica that she wasn't shouting. She was thinking. She may be thinking the wrong things but at least she was thinking…

"I'm here...whenever you want to pick up on things…" she said quietly.

Iris sympathized for her friend while Veronica walked out. "Bells, I'm so sorry."

"No," Belén sniffed and turned back for the table, eyes flickering from one picture to the other. "I need to focus on this."

"Yeah, but-"

"-Iris, I have to focus on this first. Maybe my mom just needs some more days to process this." Belén wanted to believe this so badly.

~ 0 ~

The pictures of Central City's slum parts did no justice to its reality. There was a lot more graffiti on the walls, a lot more trash on the streets. A lot of people were ruder and definitely looking for something to pick-pocket. Belén kept her arms crossed over her chest as she walked down the street. She found the bar from the picture she and Iris were looking at and went directly inside.

There was a foul odor at the entrance that she wished she could forget.

"Take a seat with me sweetheart," she heard a man say as she walked in.

"Screw off," she spat without sparing him a glance. She came up to the bar counter, which was pretty empty save for two more customers at the end. She pulled her phone out and left it on the counter in front of her, just in case she needed to snap pictures or look at one of the ones she already have.

A tall Asian woman with long, dark hair came by a couple minutes later. "What can I get you?"

"Um…" Belén wasn't that big of a drinker, and much less during the day so she just asked for a mimosa. While she waited, she began to look around the bar with more searching eyes. She didn't see anyone that would necessarily stand out. Everyone seemed to be doing their own things, whether it was legal or not.

"Here you go," the bar tender returned with the bright orange drink in her hand. As she put the glass down, her eyes lingered on Belén for a few seconds. "You looking for someone?" her tough voice startled Belén. When the woman nearly fell off her stool, the bartender smiled. "You're not from around here."

"That easy to tell?" Belén bit her lower lip.

"Yeah. Don't walk alone in these parts."

"Is it really that bad here?"

The bartender nodded her head. She popped a bubble from her bubble gum and smirked. "Not if you know how to take care of yourself."

Belén saw some odd marks on the side of the woman's neck. She was sure there were some stitches poking up from her blouse. "Are you okay?" she pointed at the injuries, startling the bartender for a moment.

"Yeah. Just got into it with someone, no big deal." The bartender seemed to shift from friendly to brief. "My name's Shivhan if you want to leave a tip," she said before walking away.

Belén picked up her mimosa and had a couple sips from it. As she was putting it down, she heard a familiar voice behind her that nearly made her spill the glass.

"You are beautiful but crazy," Barry stood behind her and not too pleased.

Belén turned her stool sideways so she could see him. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Iris told me you were coming here! Belén!" he whisper-hissed as he sat down next to her. "This is a shady place to be at on your own, Bells. How could you come here alone?"

"Um, because I'm a big girl who can take care of herself?"

Barry deadpanned her. That's not what he meant and she knew it. "It never hurts to have backup. Besides, do you even know what you'd say to Black Orchid if you found her?"

"No, but...I'm a reporter. I'd wing it," Belén picked up her mimosa again and smiled.

Barry shook his head at her. "Alright, so what do have? Any clues?"

"Not really. I was just kind of scoping the area out," Belén shrugged and briefly looked back at the room. "But there's barely any people here and those who are, are definitely not Black Orchid."

Barry could agree with that since almost every customer in the building were men. "Maybe we should try later."

"I'm hoping something will happen that would make Black Orchid appear."

"Bit cynical," remarked Barry.

"Desperate." Belén sighed and forgot about her glass as she turned her stool to face the room. "I don't know, maybe we could speed things up or something."

"Like how?"

"Well...Black Orchid seems to appear whenever there's trouble, so…"

Barry was giving her a strange look. "You want us to stage a fight?"

"Something like that."

"I don't know about that Belén...I think we need to come up with a good plan and then-"

Belén was about to cut him off with the fact they didn't - or rather _she_ didn't - have time to sit down and plan, when they heard a loud crash from outside. At once Belén jumped off her stool and tried to peer out into the street from her spot.

"Fight! Fight!" a crowd sitting near the door started to chant, prompting some delirious laughter from the room. It was only a matter of seconds before they rushed out into the streets.

"Creeps," Shivhan, the bartender, spat while she continued to wipe down the counter.

Barry got up as well and sprinted up to the window to see what was going on. Belén soon followed and saw with him that there were a couple of masked thieves making out of a shop with some valuables. Two of them had guns.

"We gotta do something," Barry rushed out the door but just as he was about to leave the sidewalk, Belén yanked him to her side.

"This is our chance!"

"Belén, someone could get hurt!"

"They won't because you'll intervene if she's not here in 1 minute," Belén promised then faced the street.

The thieves were trying to make an escape but there were being confronted with another group intending on taking the stolen valuables. Just as they were about to fire, something purple swooped down and punched the two gunmen from the first thief band.

"I told you…" Belén sounded breathless as she gazed at none other than Black Orchid. Barry had to hand it to her and her precise thinking.

Black Orchid was a feared presence by most of the people outside, judging how they stepped back. From what they could see, the meta had long, dark hair and dark eyes hidden behind a black mask that covered half her face. She wore a one-suit in the colors of black and violet. It was the same one Iris had shown them earlier.

Black tendrils sprouted from the woman's back and captured three of the men. She threw them halfway down the street without regards of where they hit or how hard they hit. She then ducked to avoid being hit by one of the men behind her. She jumped back up and kicked a leg up to knock the man down. As bullets fired towards her, she used her vines to create a shield where the bullets embedded themselves. Once she disbanded the shield, she sent the bullets right back and injured two more men. The last two remaining were from each of band and they both looked equally terrified.

"Drop it and go," she ordered in a rough voice.

The two instantly dropped their stolen things and made a run for it. Black Orchid raised three fingers and when she'd pulled them down, her arm did a boomerang action and released two different black masses that attached themselves to the men.

"Barry, we gotta get her alone," Belén spoke quietly to the speedster next to her.

"But how?" Barry looked around and saw that while the thieves had been taken down - killed, really - the crowd around them was still watching Black Orchid like hawks.

"I brought something with me," Belén admitted. Barry looked down at her and saw her reaching into her purse. She showed him the tip of a syringe. His eyes widened at it but before he could say something she said, "It's a sedative."

"Belén, we can't really do-"

"-I need her, Barry," she told him like this was already decided with or without him. "Datura _is_ going to kill me if I don't up my game. Black Orchid can help me do that."

There was some questionable tactics Barry saw Black Orchid far too comfortable with, but he knew that he could stand there and argue with Belén without making a difference. "Fine." He took the syringe from her and disappeared. A minute later, so did Black Orchid.

When Belén felt a set of arms pull her as well, she smiled. She found herself in an alley where Black Orchid was already down with sedation. "Thank you," she said to the speedster.

Barry gazed down at the unconscious metahuman. "I don't think _she'll_ be thanking us for this."

~0~

Team STAR Labs was never one for kidnapping. So when Barry and Belén brought in a guest, kidnapped and unconscious, they had much to say over the matter.

"This is not legal," Caitlin was the first to say, or scold, at the two metas. Barry and Belén stood in the middle of the cortex, listening to everyone having their go at them. "You kidnapped someone!"

"Well, if I asked she wouldn't have come," Belén argued. "You guys didn't see her out there. She's tough."

"And you think you need to be the same?" Cisco's doubtful stare made her roll her eyes.

"I need to change something and she can help me figure out what."

"Least she's taking initiative," Harry inputted his own opinion, surprising Belén that he was actually siding with her since he originally didn't agree with the plan of finding Black Orchid. "You can't always be soft. Especially when someone's trying to kill you."

"Uh, thanks Harry," she offered the man a small smile before looking at Caitlin and Cisco. "I'm not hurting her. I just needed to get her here so I could talk to her."

"And if she doesn't want to help?" asked Cisco.

"Let's hope she does."

"Well…" Caitlin has looked up from a computer, "... now's your chance. She just woke up."

~0~

Black Orchid was a woman who could be _scary_. Her balled fists repeatedly pounded against the pipeline pod. "LET ME OUT!" She screamed and screamed the same thing.

Cisco honestly thought the pod wouldn't last if this kept going.

Black Orchid only stopped when she saw someone coming into the pipeline. She straightened up and raised her head to judge if this person was going to help or not. "Who are you?" She didn't have to wait for a verbal answer since she saw clear as day who was on the other side. "The Azalea? Hm. That's a shocker. Would you let me go? I didn't do nothing wrong."

"You did kill people…" Belén reminded, though not as a way to punish her.

"They're thugs! It's kill or be killed!"

"Look, I'm not here to talk about who you killed or how many you killed. I need your help."

Black Orchid dropped her arms to her sides. Her chin raised again and though she had a mask on, Belén swore she was being judged. "Why would the Azalea need _my_ help?"

"Because Datura is a dangerous metahuman that I cannot stop if you don't teach me how to get into the Green."

Black Orchid lowered her head. "Excuse me? The Green? You know about that?" Belén nodded her head. "But you don't know how to get in?"

"Have you ever seen me in there?"

Belén made a good point. Black Orchid crossed her arms and looked around the pod she was trapped in. "And you thought the best way to get me to help you was to lock me up?"

"Not my best idea but I really needed to have a minute with you."

"Here's the thing, I don't trust you. And, let's be honest, you don't trust me." Black Orchid inched closer to the glass wall. "I'm not training anyone. In this world, it's all about yourself. I need to look out for myself."

"Well, that's a pretty way of looking at life," Belén remarked. "But look, I really need your help. Datura is coming back-"

"-then _you_ fight her off. She's your fight, not mine. Why do you think I've hidden for a month now? I'm not looking to get killed."

"But if you don't help me a lot of people are going to die!"

"Better them than me," Black Orchid said so plainly, so flatly, that Belén's mouth almost fell to the floor.

"How could you...how could you say that?"

"Because it's the truth. Self preservation."

Belén was flabbergasted to hear such a thing.

~0~

"I cannot believe she said that!" Belén stormed into the cortex, looking ready to kill someone herself. "How rude! How...selfish!"

"Sorry it didn't work out, Bells," Cisco meant as a true apology but she scoffed at him.

"Are you, though? You weren't even on board with the idea in the first place!"

Cisco made a face but, knowing she was just upset, he kept his mouth shut. He, did, however, give a look at Barry and Caitlin. Someone else needed to step in.

"Belén, maybe we just need to give her some time," Barry's suggestion was also responded with a scoff.

"I don't have time!" She groaned and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Caitlin called after her.

"Out! Don't follow!"

"She's m-a-d mad," Cisco whistled then quickly looked back to see if Belén had heard.

"She's upset, and with good reason," Barry rubbed his forehead. "Let's just keep an eye on her. She took the suit so-"

"-she's really _mad_ ," Cisco blurted and received a disapproving look from Caitlin. Barry just sighed.

"She turned off the tracker in her suit," Caitlin informed a few minutes later.

"Not surprising," Barry mumbled and moved over to see the screen himself. "She couldn't have gotten far. I'll go get her. See if I can talk to her."

He zipped out of the cortex with his suit, intending on finding Belén and bringing her back. However, it turned out Belén was very good at hiding. It'd been at least an hour of him scouring through the city before he gave up and asked for some additional help. Caitlin and Cisco were monitoring as usual, but, like Barry, they didn't have a clue where Belén went. It was like she disappeared.

"I've gone through all the places she usually goes to, I'm starting to get worried," Barry admitted. He stood at the top of a rooftop overlooking the busy streets of the city. It was fine that Belén wanted to have some time alone but two hours of no contact felt wrong.

"Uh, we got something, Barry!" Cisco exclaimed.

"Did you find her?" Barry quickly asked, ready to go as soon as they gave him a place.

"Yeah, um…looks like some warehouse off on Third and Carson street."

"That's weird," remarked Caitlin. "That whole block is for warehouses. What could Belén be doing there?"

"Don't know but we're going to find out," Barry said before speeding down the building he was on. He followed the instructions from the two and didn't bother coming in cautiously. He skidded to a stop and looked around the empty warehouse. "Belén?" he called out and received no answer. "Belén!"

"What's going on, Barry?" Cisco asked after the third failed call for Belén.

"She's not here," Barry ripped the cowl off his head and started walking down the left. There was something making a light noise coming from that direction. "But I...I don't think this warehouse is empty…"

"Belén's tracker says she's there, dude," Cisco insisted, though he was going through the tracker's ping just to make sure.

"Well, I don't see her," Barry kept walking forwards, now spotting something silvery round the corner. "Belén?"

"Barry, be careful," Caitlin warned. She was beginning to think there was something wrong with this entire situation. As if the world was reading her mind, she got a different type of alert on her computer screen.

Barry reeled back when a redhead swung from the side. "Hi there pretty boy," Poison Ivy showed off a smug smirk before firing at the speedster with a high-tech gun.

"Barry!" Cisco shouted as the computer stopped getting readings from Barry's vitals, his entire suit's actually. "Everything's gone offline." Cisco leaned back against his chair and heaved a heavy breath.

"Caitlin!" they both heard Belén's voice shriek from the other end of the line.

The two in the cortex did a quick double-take at each other before calling out their friend's name.

"Where are you!?" Caitlin demanded while she worked to figure out how the meta alert was coming from one part while Belén's tracker was pinging from another.

"Downtown! And I'm -" Belén shrieked again.

As it turned out, she was nowhere near close Barry's location. She didn't know how it happened, to be honest. She'd been sulking on her own for a while when she started to see some familiar red energy from a distance. Trained or not, she was not planning on giving Datura a pass. She chased after the energy until it led her downtown…

Datura had sucker-punched her from behind. She seemed to be on a different plan because even though she had a clear, open path to hurt Belén again, she walked past the woman on the ground and moved towards a street pole. Her eyes glowed an orange before shooting lasers at the street pole.

As Belén turned on her stomach, she saw the bottom of the street pole begin to steam as the acid from the lasers melted it away.

"Better, run, run, run!" Datura sing-sang to the people around when the street pole started creaking and leaning on its side.

"Oh, dammit," Belén muttered and scrambled to her feet. She started throwing vines to pull away the people in danger of getting squashed.

Datura boredly rolled her eyes as if saving people was a waste of time, and to her it was. When Belén pulled the last person out of the way, Datura rubbed her hands together and created a sword from her red energy.

"Uh oh," Belén had the good sense to back away. "Caitlin!" she started to call but for some reason, no one answered her. "Caitlin!"

"Where are you!?" Caitlin demanded so suddenly that, if Belén had been more focused, she would've picked up on the fact something was wrong.

"Downtown! And I'm -" Belén shrieked and ducked when Datura threw her sword at her. "It's Datura! She's back!"

"And ready to win," Datura said with a proud smile. Her eyes glowed silver, as did her hands. She radiated in Lunar energy, something Belén hadn't quite seen before and was therefore a little scared. "The power of Eclipsa-" Datura's smile widened, but Belén once again noticed there was a different voice speaking with Datura's, -is mine. Here's a little taste of what I can do!" She drew her hands back and started firing consecutively with lunar bolts.

Belén whipped her hands in front of her and tried doing what she saw Black Orchid doing earlier. She created a makeshift shield in front of her but Datura was going nonstop. "Caitlin, I really need Barry right now!"

"I - we thought he was with you!" Cisco exclaimed. "We lost contact with him!"

That made Belén automatically drop her shield in shock. "What!?" A series of lunar bolts hit her square in the chest, knocking her back on the ground. She shook her head in an attempt to rid her ears of the warped sounds. "Caitlin...where's...Barry?"

"We're working on it!"

"Oooh, are you looking for your partner?" Datura started walking towards Belén who was sitting up. "Yay-high-" she made a gesture of Barry's height over her head, "-red suit? Admittedly good looking?" Belén openly glared at her, making the woman laugh. "Don't be jealous. But, I do know where your Flash is."

Belén paused and gave Datura a look. "What?" She quickly got up and, to Datura's surprise, she swung a vine to throw the Earth 2 meta into a bus stop bench. "If you hurt him-"

Datura raised a hand and delivered a shock of electricity Belén's way. The brunette screamed as her body convulsed with the electric shocks.

Datura slowly got up and felt something over her lip. She took a drip of blood off her skin and scowled at herself. "Great." She walked towards Belén, admittedly feeling wobbly on her feet. "Listen up Azalea, here's the deal. I've got your Flash all nice and unconscious thanks to a speed gun I swept from Earth 2-" she bent down in front of Belén, smirking at the weariness in the woman's face from being attacked, "-and if you want to see him again...you're gonna have to drop this. Poison Ivy doesn't do patience."

Belén blinked rapidly from the electricity still lingering in her body. "I...want to...see him."

Datura smirked. "Thought you would." She raised a hand, making it seem like she was going to wave goodbye when instead she fired one last energy beam to knock Belén out.

~ 0 ~

In the cortex gathered at the cortex after realizing their two leading metas had been taken right under their noses.

"It was a trap," Cisco said quietly, and defeatedly, at his chair. He had his hands put together to the bridge of his nose. "It was a trap and we didn't see it."

"But it doesn't make sense how Datura got Belén's suit tracker in the first place," Caitlin hated the fact she couldn't figure that mystery out. "We didn't even realize it was gone."

From the corner of the cortex stood Harry, still and silent. His jaw was clenched with guilt but he still could not say anything.

"We know where they are," Iris reminded them. She looked at the screen on the wall, displaying the last known whereabouts of Barry. "Let's just go get them."

"First of all, we don't even know if they're still going to be there," Cisco pointed out, dropping his hand to his lap. "Second of all, even if they _are_ still there...what the hell are we supposed to do?" he made a quick gesture at their members. "They'd kill us."

Caitlin set a hand on Cisco's shoulder and gave a smile at the rest. "I think what Cisco's trying to say is that we do not have the...meta-skills to take on Datura and Poison Ivy at the same time."

"Well, we have to do something," Iris walked up to the desk and set her arms over the top. "Can we call in Nina?"

"Even then, taking on these two metas…" Caitlin gave a shake of her head. "She'll need back up."

"Where do we get that from?" Iris looked at the trio expectantly.

Cisco looked up at Caitlin, both apparently thinking of the same thing.

"Wait here," he pushed himself up from his chair. He exchanged a nod with Caitlin before the two walked out of the cortex.

~ 0 ~

After hours of screaming to be released, Black Orchid resigned herself to the fact she may never be getting out of the pipeline. She picked herself up as soon as she heard the pipeline door opening.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded when she was face to face with Caitlin and Cisco.

"Manners," Cisco pointed at her. "We have a proposition for you."

"And why the hell would I care?"

"Because it involves your freedom, smartass," Cisco snapped. Caitlin inwardly sighed. This would definitely infuriate Belén but right now what mattered was bringing her and Barry back.

Black Orchid leaned on her hip. "I'm listening."

"The Azalea and the Flash have been kidnapped by Datura. We need you to help our friend, the Tempest, get them back."

Black Orchid unceremoniously snorted. "You want me to go up against the siphoner this entire city is talking about? She's the reason I stopped showing my face."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin's eyebrows knitted together.

Black Orchid didn't like the fact she'd unintentionally admitted that. "It's clear that this Datura wants to kill anyone in her path. I've seen what she's done to the Azalea. Imagine what she'd do if she found another botanist metahuman? No way!"

Cisco wasn't in a particular mood to remind the woman she was a human being. So, like Belén, he did first and would apologize later. "Fine, then I guess you'll stay here forever. Or at least until you die."

"You wouldn't let me die," scoffed the meta.

"Have you seen any other prisoners here?" Cisco's question made the metahuman pause. "Yeah. What do you think happened to the others in here?"

"You can't do that!"

"Then please help us," Caitlin pleaded. "C'mon. You're afraid and we get that, but if you don't do anything then Datura will kill the Azalea. And, if there's no one left to fight Datura...you're not going to be safe anywhere."

"If I go up against her I'll die right there and then," Black Orchid countered with.

"You said you were hiding from Datura so you didn't show your face," Caitlin reminded. "But the Azalea said you showed your face today after a store got robbed. That doesn't sound like self preservation to me."

"...that was my favorite store," Black Orchid rolled her eyes, attempting to make it all casual.

"Cut the crap, girl!" Cisco exclaimed. "Your freedom's on the table and you're gonna seriously waste it?"

"We can help you," Caitlin added. "We can make sure you're well prepared. We could even help you heal from your past fights." Black Orchid visibly stiffened. "The Azalea told us about some of the stitches she saw on you. And like my friend said, your freedom is on the table."

Black Orchid's dark eyes flickered from one scientist to the next. She knew what her position was and how far she could actually get. It wasn't good. "Fine," she huffed and reached a hand to the back of her head where her mask's tie was. "But I need some stitches to be re-done. So, who's the medical doctor here?" she tore the mask off to reveal a familiar face, though not familiar to Caitlin or Cisco.

Bartender Shivhan Jang stared at the scientists.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So, first of all, this is a **disclaimer** for the fact that while I am writing in the character of Black Orchid, I am doing a different VERSION of the character. Black Orchid belongs to the DC world.

Now, the reason I decided to write this character in was because I felt it genuinely wrong she was written and barely got recognition. I never heard of Black Orchid until I started doing research on botanical metahumans for this precise arc. It amazed me she was such a complex character that I just had to write my version of hers.

And a visual reference of Black Orchid, aka Shivhan, would be the Korean singer Sunmi.

Other than that, I'm excited for this 2-parter because Datura is just so unnecessarily mean. Like, I love her, I really do xD. Wait till you see what she's done!


	12. For the Girl Who Had Everything

**Author's Note: For some reason, this chapter never uploaded and I am SO sorry for that.**

 _Itaclis is for_ _Belén's world._

 **Bold is for Barry's world.**

* * *

 _"Belén? You ready to go?" Iris' voice didn't register until the third time she asked the same question._

 _Belén finally blinked and tore her eyes from the nothingness she'd been entranced with. She blinked a couple times until she realized she was standing in front of a metal table, inside what looked like a laboratory. She herself was wearing a lab coat and some protective glasses. "...what?" she whispered. Where the hell was she!?_

 _"Belén, we're going to be late!" Iris exclaimed. "Don't tell me you have cold feet already!"_

 _"Cold feet - what?" Belén made a face that indicated pure, honest confusion. "What are you talking about?"_

 _"Hey," Linda Park strode into the lab with her phone in hand. "Caitlin says she's already at the store. We good?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Belén to get with the program," Iris chuckled. "I think she's got cold feet."_

 _"Already?" Linda gaped. "You're not at the aisle yet."_

 _Aisle?" Belén repeated, though something inside told her she'd be figuring it out in a couple seconds. Her eyes found her left hand where a shiny silver ring sat on her ring finger. "Oh my God is that an engagement ring!?" she practically screeched._

 _Now she had the odd stares from Iris and Linda._

 _"She's out of it," Iris shook her head._

 _"We gotta go or we're going to be late," Linda said._

 _Between the two, they grabbed Belén's things, pulling her protective glasses off and her lab coat, and dragged her out of the building...all in the meanwhile she had a meltdown over the news._

 _"What do you mean I'm getting married!? I can't get married!" she frantically looked between the two women holding her arms. They were walking her down the street as if she'd try to run away from them, and actually...if given the chance, she might just._

 _"Belén, wake up!" Iris gave her an odd glance. "This has been going on for almost a year now. This is the last fitting of your wedding dress-"_

 _"-I don't have a wedding dress because I'm not getting married!" Belén exclaimed. "I never got engaged! I am not engaged!"_

 _"Jesus, Belén, how many hours of sleep did you get last night?" Linda asked, giving Belén the same look Iris had._

 _"The right amount to know that I never got engaged to anyone!" Belén finally wrestled free from their hooks and whirled around to face them. She pointed a sharp finger at the two women, warning them not to get any closer. "Now listen to me when I say that I am not getting married!"_

 _"Fine, but you're the one who's going to explain that to Barry later," Iris said, freezing Belén in her spot._

 _The ombre-blonde blinked several times as the words hit her. "... Barry?" she repeated. "I'm...getting married...t-to Barry?" Iris and Linda both nodded their heads. "What…?" Belén felt light headed. Oh yes she did. "...when…?"_

 _When she started rocking on her feet to the point of nearly falling, Iris and Linda hurried to catch her._

 _"Oh God Belén, don't tell me your already pregnant!" Linda's laugh was no joke for Belén who nearly fell again._

 _"Don't say that! I'm not - **what** is going on!?" Belén shouted to the air._

~0~

"Shivhan Jang," Cisco loudly read the name off the profile he had posted on the screen on wall for the others to see, "Twenty-seven year old with no actual priors…"

"Then why is she in our system?" Joe cut him off and pointed to the fact Cisco had the CCPD system open for them to see.

A smile spread across his face. "She had a speeding ticket she never paid."

"Okay, moving on?" Iris motioned them not to get so stuck on that one detail. They were on a time limit here, after all.

"Okay," Cisco clapped his hands together before continuing with his briefing. "Let's see. She and her family emigrated from Korea when she was 5, she's been a part of Central City's school records since kindergarten but we've got no college attendance. She dropped out."

"What about her powers?" Joe asked. "Did she get them from the Particle Accelerator?"

"Yup, there's footage of her in a flower shop the night the Particle Accelerator went off. I'd show it to you but it is not pretty."

"Can we trust her?" Joe wearily asked. He couldn't believe they were relying on a woman Belén technically kidnapped.

"She wants her freedom…" Cisco reminded.

"But how do we know she won't run out on us as soon as Caitlin finishes healing her?"

"Because we're chipping her," Cisco said so matter-of-factly that both Joe and Iris stared at him in shock.

"We're _what_?" Iris put a hand behind her ear just to make sure she was listening clearly.

"Relax," Cisco waved her and Joe off. "It's just a lie, but she won't know that. We tell her we found a way to switch her powers off. She likes her powers. She will help us."

"I don't know," Joe shook his head. "Sounds like we're being…"

"Shady?" Iris finished for him. "First, Belén kidnaps her, then we force her to help us with lies and deceit?"

"The situation is dire, Iris!" Cisco snapped. "We're not hurting her and we really are letting her go afterwards. Belén can kill us later."

"And you know she _will_ kill us for letting her go," Iris reiterated that part just so they all knew what was going to come after. Cisco seemed more or less prepared for it.

~0~

" _ **Barry?" someone softly called. "Barry?"**_

 _ **The speedster in question stirred awake after about the fourth call of his name. He opened his eyes and met a white sheet bunched up beside him. A bed. He was laying on a bed.**_

" _ **Barry?"**_

 _ **It clicked to Barry that it was Belén calling his name. He sat upright and rubbed his eyes. There was something wrong here and he couldn't tell what it was.**_

" _ **Good morning," Belén was sitting near the foot of the bed, to Barry's left, and was smiling at the speedster. "You must have been really tired because I've been trying to wake you up for a good 15 minutes now."**_

" _ **What happened?" Barry dropped his hands from his face, though he was still partially groggy. "I thought I was…" but he trailed off when he finally looked at Belén. "Oh my God…Belén you're-you're…" He could finish the words in one go.**_

 _ **Belén raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Barry, are you okay?"**_

 _ **But Barry was speechless. Now he knew there was definitely something wrong. "You're...** pregnant **."**_

 _ **Belén's look indicated she was worried for him and not herself, like he was. She gazed down at her pregnant belly, which looked to be around 4 months at least, and chuckled. "Okay, what were you dreaming about that's got you so out of it?"**_

 _ **Barry's mouth was gaping and it didn't look like it would be closing anytime soon. "What!? But you're-"**_

" _ **-pregnant, yeah," she nodded. "Have been for 5 months now. Did you just notice, or…?"**_

 _ **Barry looked like he would pass out at any moment. "When did that -**_ how _ **did that - what!?"**_

" _ **Okay, Barry, you're seriously worrying me now."**_

" _ **I'm - but you're**_ pregnant _ **! You're-" Barry was stopped only because Belén had put her hand over his mouth. Still, his eyes were wide in alarm.**_

" _ **I know, pregnant," Belén nodded slowly. "We've been through this. Now I'm going to take my hand off your mouth and we're going to get ready for the day. We've got work. Got it?" Barry slowly nodded and, keeping her word, Belén drew her hand away from his mouth. "There," she smiled, "All better. Now c'mon! I'm craving some chocolate banana pancakes!" She pecked his lips and scooted off the bed, though it was a bit of a struggle.**_

 _ **All Barry did was watch her go with wide, wide eyes.**_

~ 0 ~

 _Belén felt like she couldn't breath...and it wasn't because of the wedding dress hugging her body. No, no, it was the world she was living in._

" _Belén, you don't look so happy," Caitlin's voice drew Belén's gaze from her reflection. She'd been staring at herself in the mirror for a good five minutes, but she wasn't in-tune with the rest of reality. "You look beautiful."_

 _They were inside the store where apparently Belén had ordered her wedding dress from. Caitlin, Iris and Linda were sitting across her, watching her in delight as they got a full view of the finished dress._

" _Yeah, um…" Belén cleared her throat and turned away from the mirror. "I'm just...it doesn't feel **real** …"_

 _Caitlin smiled. "Yeah, that's understandable."_

" _You look so pretty, girl!" Linda exclaimed. "Barry's going to lose it when he sees you!"_

 _At the mention of Barry, Belén stiffened. She looked down at her left hand again, where the shiny ring still sat. "I'm…" she swallowed hard. "I need my Mom. Where is she?"_

" _At home, where else?" Iris gave her a strange look. "You and her don't really talk, remember?"_

 _Well, that rang right._

" _I...need to see Barry, then," Belén figured if anyone would tell her the truth it would be Barry. Of course, the others didn't see it that way._

" _You just can't wait, huh?" Linda gave her a smirk._

 _Belén reddened in a short minute. "Oh God, stop!"_

" _Oh give her a break," Caitlin waved them off, but of course they just burst into laughter._

" _I need to see Barry, where is he?" Belén grabbed Caitlin's wrist. "Please?"_

 _Of course Caitlin told her Barry was at the precinct. That also rang truth. Needless to say, Belén dragged Caitlin back to the fitting room so that she could help unzip the damn dress for her. She needed to get away from there and find Barry._

 _She didn't even think about giving any of her friends an explanation for her hasty leave...but it wasn't like they weren't going to guess. Luckily for her, the way to the precinct was just like it always was. There were few things that seemed just like her world, but this couldn't be it._

 _She kept thinking that as she walked into the precinct._ _She was only halfway into the bullpen when she spotted Barry coming out of the Captain's office. Well, he seemed normal._

" _Barry?" she called once and had his full attention._

 _His face brightened and soon he bid goodbye to his co-worker. He came directly to her and greeted her with a kiss that, honestly, felt pretty real. "Hey," Barry smiled at her. "How'd it go today?"_

" _Hm?" it took Belén a few seconds to realize he meant her trip to the wedding dress store. "Oh, right, um...we gotta talk about that."_

" _Oh, okay," Barry nodded. "You want to go up to the lab?"_

 _Belén agreed and allowed him to take her hand - her left hand - and lead her out of the bullpen. His hand felt real enough to be him...but there was something inside telling her that this was all wrong._

~ 0 ~

Caitlin finished stitching up the last bit of open skin on Shivhan's shoulder. Soon as she said she was done, Shivhan pulled up the STAR Labs shirt she'd borrowed up to her shoulder again.

"Thanks," Shivhan mumbled and got up from the medbed. "So, what do I do next?"

"Well, we're making you a tracker and implanting a communications system to your suit so we can talk to you while you're out," Caitlin picked up her tablet she'd left on the table.

"And when do I get to go out?"

"Soon."

Shivhan sighed loudly in annoyance. "Sure, take your time. Not like I'm in a hurry to leave."

Caitlin looked up from her tablet. "Why? We could offer you help here."

"I don't need help from you people. You let the Azalea and the Flash get kidnapped. Good going."

Caitlin pursed her lips at the hard jab. She couldn't exactly argue much in their defense there, right? Shivhan seemed to know what she'd done because she smirked.

Caitlin briefly glared in return them added, "And yet you needed my help stitching you back up." That made Shivhan's smirk falter. "Don't have many doctors around you?"

"They tend to get robbed where I'm from," Shivhan meant to leave the room, though she had no idea where she'd be going since she didn't know STAR Labs yet.

"Then maybe we can help you after this," Caitlin's offer forced Shivhan to turn around. "Help out that neighborhood of yours…"

"That is _my_ territory. I will take care of it!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Caitlin's face. "I guess it's not all about self preservation."

Now it was Shivhan's turn to glare. Caitlin, on her part, just smiled kindly.

"It's okay. That's your home and you have every right to be defensive about it. Why do you think neither the Azalea nor the Flash leave Central City? It's their home too and they want to defend it."

Shivhan rolled her eyes, but secretly she respected that. She was big on loyalty. And right now...she supposed she had to be loyal to the two metas who'd been defending them all this time.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath. "Alright, let's go get those two metas."

~ 0 ~

 _Belén stared at her engagement ring while Barry went around his lab to clean up some things before they left._

" _Hey Bells," he called, unknowingly using her nickname she was sure he wasn't supposed to know in this fake world. "Could you give me that file?"_

 _Belén followed his gaze to the desk behind her and picked up said file. He nodded that it was that one and so she handed it to him._

" _You have a lot of work today?" she asked as a means to keep the silence away and, honestly, to weed out any information that could help her figure out what was going on._

" _Just a big case," Barry left the file flat at a table. "I think I have everything good but you know Captain Jang wants everything to be perfect."_

" _Captain Jang?" Belén repeated._

" _Shivhan Jang?"_

 _Belén blinked in shock. That was the bartender she met…_

" _Oh my God. Shivhan Jang?" she brought an index finger to bite on._

" _What are you doing?" Barry walked back to her. "You don't usually bite your nails."_

" _I don't?"_

 _He pulled her finger from her mouth and shook his head. "No. You work at a lab. You think it's disgusting."_

" _A lab...right…" Belén pursed her lips there. "What do I do there again? I thought I was a reporter or something…"_

 _Barry laughed. "Right. Like you would ever leave your botany for anything."_

" _I'm a...botanist…" Belén nodded her head. Oh yeah, there was something wrong here because she didn't have a clue as to what a botanist would do. She loved her plants, but...she was no scientist._

" _I think this whole wedding preparation is taking a toll on you," Barry smiled at her. "Thank God it's almost over, right?"_

" _Hmm? When is…?"_

" _Next week! Can you believe it?" Barry didn't notice her shock as he picked up her left hand to stroke her skin. "Feels like yesterday was the day I proposed. The park's fountain water was really cold."_

" _You proposed at our park fountain?" Belén blinked. That...sounded like it could be real. Their park fountain did have special memories._

" _Course," Barry smiled at her. "Now I just really want us to get to the date so I can call you my wife."_

" _Wife…" Belén said the word and felt like she lost air. It did make her feel butterflies in her stomach. "I'm...going to be your... wife…"_

 _No one could take the big grin off Barry's face. Belén certainly couldn't do it, even if she did know it wasn't real._

" _Sooo…how's about I take my fiance out for some lunch?" Barry brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss._

 _ **Goddammit**_ _, Belén swooned. She nodded slowly and silently while her heart jolted in her chest._

~0~

 _ **By this point, Barry knew there was something so, so wrong. After a rather quiet breakfast with Belén, he practically raced to get to work. Least there things seemed normal. The only thing that wasn't the same was the fact Veronica wasn't part of the precinct, neither was Patty.**_ _ **By the time lunch came around, Barry was going crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with his world. When Belén walked in, she found Barry at his desk with his head down and hands over his head's back.**_

 _ **"Barry?" her voice immediately pulled him up in a sitting position.**_

 _ **There she was, looking very...pregnant. He almost did a double take, but it was enough for Belén to notice.**_

 _ **"I know...not very...pretty-" she made a gesture at her stomach. "-appealing."**_

 _ **"No, that's not -" Barry didn't know what to say to her. It was hard enough looking at her. "I'm sorry."**_

 _ **"Instead of an apology, I'd really like to know what's going on with you," she walked further inside the lab. "This morning you were... completely out of it."**_

 _ **Barry nodded. It was a fair request, but it wasn't an easy one to respond to. He turned his chair to face her and offered her a tiny small. "I'm just...having some trouble waking up." Wasn't that the truth.**_

 _ **"Yeah, I know I sleep crazy," Belén sheepishly smiled.**_

 _ **Barry gave her a look. She wasn't a crazy sleeper. He didn't have the chance to sleepover with her a lot, but the few times he did she always slept peacefully. She barely moved.**_

 _ **Just something else that was wrong.**_

 _ **"Can we go to lunch?" Barry asked her. The only way he would figure out what was going on was if he got to talking.**_

 _ **Belén would be the only one he could trust.**_

~0~

"Hey," Joe strode into the cortex rather quickly if anyone had paid enough attention. "Did we figure out a plan to get Barry and Belén back?"

"Working on it," Cisco was tinkering with a small device in his hands.

"Yeah, uh, we got another problem," Joe informed, making Cisco look up from his work.

"What?"

Joe looked shaky, jittery…

"Where is she!?" Veronica Green's voice carried into the room minutes before she appeared. She looked absolutely furious, and yet...terrified.

"Oh you didn't," Cisco shot Joe a look. The man rubbed the back of his head, to his credit looking guilty. "You told her!?"

"I had to. Her daughter's been kidnapped," Joe reminded. "I already have my own son out there. I know exactly what it feels like-"

"-we were getting them back! She's mad as hell!" Cisco flapped a hand in Veronica's direction. "With a gun!"

"Oh give it a break and tell me where my daughter is," Veronica snapped. "I cannot believe you let her get kidnapped! This is exactly why I don't want Belén anywhere near this world!"

"Well she's in it and we're working on it," Cisco nearly snapped himself. "Now would you please stop shouting at me? I'm trying to work on something here!"

"What is it?" Joe spotted the small device in Cisco's hand.

"It's a comm. system for Shivhan," Cisco turned back for the table he'd been working at.

"Who's Shivhan?" Veronica crossed her arms.

"Someone helping us to get Belén and Barry back."

"This is crazy! Why can't we just get the CCPD into this!?"

Cisco shook his head and mumbled something that sounded like 'beginners'. He turned back woman with a polite smile. "Because these are dangerous, poisonous, metahumans that the CCPD is not capable of fighting."

Veronica looked outraged. Her eyes flickered to Joe and waited for him to say something in their defense, but of course he never did. "You're just going to let him say things like that?"

"I ain't fighting no poisonous metas," Joe gave her a crazed look. "I have seen first-hand what those two are like and believe me when I tell you that these guys-" he pointed at Cisco, "-know how to handle it. With some supervision of course."

"Kind of gave the compliment and took it away," Cisco mumbled to him before facing Veronica. "Look, Ms. Green, Belén knows how to handle herself. She can hang on until we get there to help her."

But that didn't seem to satisfy Veronica much. "You just take this so easily. Like it's normal." Before Cisco could say it pretty much was part of their daily meta life, Veronica went on. "I could lose Belén just like I lost Maritza and Rayan."

"You're not losing anyone," Joe pointed at her then moved his finger to Cisco. "And you gotta hurry up. We cannot let Datura and Poison Ivy keep Belén and Barry another minute."

Cisco agreed.

~ 0 ~

" _Sooo...we're not getting lunch," Barry confessed as he and Belén walked down the street. They'd been walking for a while now and while Belén had thought of asking him to just speed them to their destination, the act of walking and talking was a better strategy to get more information._

 _Now though, she looked at him curiously. "What? Why not?"_

" _I have a surprise for you," he announced with that same cheeky smile he had in real life._

" _Well, what is it?"_

" _It's just down the block," he nodded up ahead. They'd turned down a new block of houses recently but Belén wasn't sure what he was nodding at._

 _He walked them to the last house of the block. While he didn't say anything, Belén noticed the 'for sale' sign in the front yard now had a bright red 'sold' over it._

 _Barry stopped them at the front door and reached for something in his pocket. "I did a thing...a surprise...and...well…" he pulled out a key that he held between them, "Surprise."_

 _Belén's dark eyes widened as she looked at the keys and the front door. "You didn't…"_

" _I did," nodded Barry. "We talked about it but with all the planning we never really got around to looking. I thought I'd do that and I found one I know you'll love."_

" _Barry, I…" Belén didn't know what to do nor say. Her head kept turning from his soft face to the front door._

" _It's ours, Bells," he put a finger under her chin and gently turned her gaze to him. "It's our **home**."_

 _Belén couldn't help it. Her eyes teared up. It wasn't real, she knew, but she couldn't help wish - for a brief second - that it was. She wished they weren't always in constant danger with metahumans trying to kill them. It always felt like there was more bad than good in their lives, more tears than smiles._

 _She wished they could just be happy and safe._

 _She threw her arms around Barry and hugged him tight. Barry wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her head._

" _I love you, Bells," he whispered._

" _I love you too," she closed her eyes tight._

~ 0 ~

"You did all that in the span of 3 hours?" Shivhan looked over the magenta colored suit Cisco had apparently made for her.

Cisco had brought the suit to the cortex for her and the others to see. They still weren't very sure of Shivhan but so far, she hadn't tried to run away...though they were aware she was under the lie that she was chipped.

"Yeah, well, I was a bit rushed," Cisco huffed. "But I'll get it done better after we get our friends back."

"Nina's on her way here," Iris looked up from her phone.

Beside her, Veronica shook her head. "I cannot believe Dr. Clarke is in on this as well."

"Goes to show you that everyone can be a meta and still have a life," Iris said as a means to support Belén's life style.

"Or it shows that everyone's a liar," Veronica made sure to look at everyone in the cortex.

"Hey, don't count me in your web, lady," Shivhan crossed her arms and looked Veronica in the face. "I'm here helping your daughter who, by the way," she made sure to look at Cisco, "I still don't know her actual name. But she knows mine? How's that fair."

"She found you fair and square," Cisco raised his hands.

Shivhan rolled her eyes and pointed at her new suit. "Tell me when I can wear this stupid thing, alright? I'm gonna go take a shot before I have to face a murderer." But just as she was leaving, Caitlin came into the cortex with a grim face.

"I think I know why Datura and Poison Ivy have been stealing from labs," she announced.

"She stole some sleep and dream prototypes, didn't she?" asked Joe.

"Yeah, and given everything else that she took, according to Harry...they might have used it to build a sort of...dream inducer."

"A dream what-now?" Veronica frowned at her. Even Shivhan turned around when she was meant to be finding a drink somewhere in the building.

"Harry and I went over it, and we're pretty sure they've put…" Caitlin briefly glanced at Shivhan before continuing, "...the Azalea and the Flash into dream comas. They're dreaming whatever Datura and Poison Ivy programmed them to."

"So they could basically be having nightmares?" Cisco shivered. "Like walking zombies? Or death?"

Caitlin hated he was choosing to put those images in their heads, especially when Veronica was right behind him.

"We need to get them out!" Veronica exclaimed. "My daughter could have the worst nightmare invented by some murderer!"

"Why put them through that, though?" Iris made the question no one else thought to ask. She received quite a look from Veronica.

"Who cares! We just need to get them out of it!"

"It matters because Datura obviously put a lot of thought into this plan," Iris argued. "It's only reasonable we try to figure out a reason why."

"Because she's a psychopathic murderer?" Shivhan shrugged. "Sometimes there's no reason except to just be plain mean."

"She's right," Harry's voice cut in before anyone else could say anything. He walked into the cortex, making it his first appearance since Belén and Barry were taken. The guilt, while he fought it, was burdening his shoulders. "Datura used to be calculating before she came to this Earth. Now she's acting just like Zoom. She wants to be better than the Azalea before killing her. Miss Jang is right. Sometimes there's no reason except to just be mean. And if Datura controls the worlds...she's going to be outright cruel."

~ 0 ~

" _ **Oh yum," Belén took a whiff of her plate the moment it was set in front of her. She'd ordered steak with mashed potatoes and some vegetables.**_

 _ **Barry watched her eat and had to chuckle at her excitement. It definitely felt like her. When Belén noticed his stare, she blushed and stopped eating.**_

" _ **I had an insane craving today for steak. It's cooked so...we should be good," she rubbed the top of her stomach.**_

 _ **The smile on Barry faltered for a second. Right. That was definitely not real. It couldn't be. But still…**_

" _ **How, um...how did that happen?" he knew the moment he asked the question that it wasn't worded right and it would definitely put him in an awkward situation.**_

" _ **How did what happen?" Belén raised an eyebrow at him. Barry didn't say anything but his eyes flickered to her stomach. "What? You mean when did I get pregnant? Barry! You were there!"**_

" _ **I know, but-"**_

"- _ **I didn't make this happen on my own, you know!"**_

 _ **Barry cleared his throat while he felt his face warm up. "I haven't...we never…" but of course he couldn't say finish that sentence because apparently it wasn't true here.**_

" _ **We never what?" Belén demanded to know. "Don't tell me you're doubting your fatherhood all of a sudden."**_

 _ **Barry shook his head. But it was just another face that didn't fit in this reality. Because in his world, he never touched Belén. And she wasn't the type to cheat on him. There was no way in hell she could be pregnant.**_

" _ **Seriously Barry, what is going on with you?" Belén put her fork down on the table. "All day today you've been so weird. I'm a little worried, honestly."**_

" _ **I-I'm fine," Barry coughed. "I think I just hit my head or something."**_

" _ **And you forgot things?" Belén smiled in amusement. "Or is it that dad-shock come early?"**_

 _ **Barry bobbed his head.**_ Dad _ **. It was wrong and he had to figure out a way to get out of it. "Hey Belén, what's your favorite color?"**_

" _ **Pink, why? You knew that…?"**_

 _ **Dammit, that was right. "Why is it your favorite color again?"**_

" _ **Um...because it's on my favorite flower, Azaleas."**_

 _ **Dammit, also right.**_

" _ **Alright, Barry, now you're really - oh!" Belén suddenly froze which, of course, made Barry immediately panic.**_

" _ **What? What is it-"**_

" _ **-it's moving! My baby's moving!" Belén exclaimed and shifted in her seat so that she could sit sideways. "Barry, come here!"**_

 _ **Barry didn't really know what to do, but for some reason his feet moved without his consent. In 2 seconds he was with Belén but his hands trembled as they went back and forth trying to decide whether or not to touch her.**_

 _ **Belén grabbed one of his hands and gently placed it over her belly. Sure enough, Barry felt the light thump underneath.**_

 _ **It'snotrealit'snotrealit'snotreal, Barry told himself repeatedly to remind himself that he couldn't get sucked into this fantasy.**_

 _ **But the thumps continued.**_

" _ **She's moving," Belén smiled with tears in her eyes.**_

 _ **Barry's gaze snapped up to meet hers. "...she? It's a girl?" Belén nodded her head.**_

 _ **Oh my God it's not real, and yet as Barry told himself that he just couldn't take his hand off Belén's stomach. He was feeling his baby kick.**_

~ 0 ~

 _Barry had brought them into the house which turned out to be beautiful. Belén never really thought about house shopping, and much less house shopping with your fiance. She was letting herself get sucked into this world and she hated it...but she just couldn't snap out of it. As Barry led her into the dining table and the kitchen, describing all the things they could do...she found herself falling more in love._

" _And I promise not to burn the house down trying to cook that lasagna of yours," he said after showing her the stove._

 _A light chuckle slipped through her lips. "It's cute you think you'll ever get my family's recipe."_

" _Well, I'm going to be part of your family now," he swiftly countered with. "You could make the exception, then…"_

" _Yeah, we'll see!" she bopped his nose and started heading out. "Let's go see upstairs!"_

" _But I want that recipe!" he called after her._

 _They came up to the second floor and found four doors. They poked their head inside the first door's room and found a small room that could be for a guest._

" _Or, you know...for a...baby...or something…" Barry said quietly, though not that quietly because Belén heard perfectly._

 _She smiled to herself. "Yeah, maybe…" she turned and walked for the next room. It turned out to be a decent sized bathroom. "Oh, I love that mirror," she gawked at the long, rectangular mirror hanging on the wall. "Is that a marble counter?"_

" _Easy, you look more in love with that than me," Barry frowned as she stroked the counter._

 _She laughed. "Jealous, much?"_

" _Let's keep looking, c'mon. Our room has a balconyyyy…" he sing-sang for her and got her attention._

" _Don't lie to me…"_

" _I'm not…"_

 _Belén bolted from the bathroom and skipped the third door to go straight for what was meant to be their bedroom. She flung open the door and saw a large bedroom inside. There was a beautiful, sparkly chandelier on the ceiling. But then her eyes found the balcony and she definitely fell in love with it._

" _Oh those are so pretty!" she squealed and rushed inside the room. "You know I miss that from when I used to live at my dad's house?"_

" _Yeah," Barry nodded. "I thought you might like this one."_

" _I do," she said before opening the balcony doors. She stepped outside and was met with a gentle breeze. "Oh my God I love this."_

 _Barry came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm glad you do." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and held her close. "Because this is our home. It's our room. And I can't wait to live here with you."_

 _Belén breathed in a shaky breath. "Yeah…I'd love to live here with...you…" she turned around and ran her hands up and down his arms. "We'd be happy here."_

" _Course we will be," Barry smiled at her. He gently pulled her back into the bedroom. "Now you know why I can't wait for next week. Are you ready to become Mrs. Allen?"_

" _Uum…" Belén bit her lip. "Well...I would like to be...some day…"_

" _That day is so close," Barry nuzzled his nose next to hers while she brought her hands to rest on his shoulders. He soon kissed her._

~ 0 ~

In the real world, Datura ran her index finger down the side of Barry's face. The unconscious speedster was placed on a metal bed with a few pads on wires sticking to his face, all connected to a machine behind.

"Don't be tempted," Poison Ivy's smooth voice warned.

Datura looked up from the speedster and scowled. "Never. I just find...it amazing. Pure appearance, though." She gazed down at Barry, who was no longer wearing his cowl as that had been ripped off the moment he was knocked out. "It's too bad Zoom is going to kill him later on. If it was up to me...he'd get to live."

"Really?" Poison Ivy crossed her arms. "You would seriously let him leave?"

Datura rolled her eyes but said nothing more.

Poison Ivy dropped her arms and moved down the room until she came up beside the second bed placed only a few feet from Barry's. This one had Belén laying on it, unconscious and with the same wires on her face as Barry. Her mask had also disappeared. "And this one? Did she ever have a chance?"

"If she didn't have her powers, then maybe," Datura turned to face Belén, but as soon as she did...a deep glare settled over her face. There was only honest hatred towards Belén, whether Datura wanted to hide it or not.

"I don't think so," Poison Ivy shook her head. She passed a hand over Belén's face, thinking it would be so easy to just end her right there...but of course Datura would never want it to be that easy. "I believe that was the plan...until you met her...and saw what she had."

Datura met Poison Ivy's look and glared. "She has the powers that can save my life. That's what I need from her."

"So then let's just take them and leave," Poison Ivy knew her suggestion would be shut down but she had to make a point of saying it out loud. "Better yet, let's just take Belén and go back to our Earth. We can run all the tests we need back there, with people who will back us up, and we can do it all from the comfort of our home."

" _No_ ," Datura's voice was hard and final. "She dies here," she said with a clenched jaw. "Where her friends are, where her family is...and where her Barry is. They can all watch her die here. That is what I deserve. Watch her life crumble as mine did." Her eyes gazed over Belén's figure and, without her knowledge, one of her hands started glowing with one of her siphoned powers. "Let's make the nice dreams turn into nightmares." She moved to the machine controlling the dream worlds. "Because if I know Belén, she's getting sucked into the fantasy whether she likes it or not. And that means when it finally crashes down, it'll hurt even more. Let's make it rain with pain." She reached for one of the small knobs on the machine and happily turned it over until a new sound took it over. The faint blue glow it had turned into an angry red.

Poison Ivy noticed Datura's hand glowing again. She always did. She was always aware that her friend slowly slipping from her, and if they didn't do something soon...

Soon there would be nothing left of her friend.

~0~

 _ **"I've been thinking of some names," Belén confessed to Barry once the two were out of the restaurant.**_

 _ **Barry, who was holding her hand, looked down at her with the utmost curiosity. "Really? What are they?"**_

 _ **"You can veto them if you'd like. Like what Ross and Rachel did when they were having a girl," Belén's suggestion made Barry laugh. "I'm serious!"**_

 _ **"Just go ahead!"**_

 _ **"Fine. I was thinking about Reneé?"**_

 _ **"Mm, that's almost as bad as Ruth."**_

 _ **Belén rolled her eyes. "Alright. How about Alya?"**_

 _ **"Better," Barry nodded.**_

 _ **"Then there's Ximena. I also kind of like Valerie, Aileen, and Everly."**_

 _ **"You...have put a lot of thought into this," Barry concluded, making Belén laugh. "I like those..."**_

 _ **"Well since I'm not at the lab anymore, there's not a lot for me to do," she shrugged.**_

 _ **"Lab? What lab?"**_

 _ **Belén gave him a glance, waiting for him to take it back but of course he didn't. "My lab? My job? At Mercury Labs? My botany work!"**_

 _ **"... right, right," Barry quickly said in an attempt to keep things looking normal. "You're a...botanist…"**_

 _ **See that wasn't right either.**_

 _ **But he didn't have a lot of time to think about it. All of a sudden, they heard gunshots.**_

 _~0~_

 _"When do you want to go to the furniture store?" Barry asked once they were out of the house. He was busy locking the front door of their new house._

 _Belén rocked on her feet while she thought about the idea. "Ummm...don't know. Whenever I guess."_

" _Well, I don't think we should waste time. We get married next week so we should have things semi-ready for then…" Barry trailed off when he noticed Belén looking at the bushes of their front yard. "What?"_

" _That would be the perfect spot to grow Azaleas," she said with a growing smile._

" _Yeah? Go look at it, then. We can stop and buy some seeds."_

 _Belén pointed at him, indicating she liked the idea. She moved to step down from the front porch when a strong force rumbled underneath her. "Wh-what's happening!?" she couldn't get her balance no matter how hard she tried. The ground shook with all its might._

" _It's an earthquake!" Barry exclaimed._

 _~ 0 ~_

 _ **No one seemed to know where the bullets were coming from at first, but the firing didn't stop.**_

 _ **And then people started going down.**_

 _ **Two across the street had blood splatter on their foreheads, on behind that caught a bullet in their chest.**_

 _ **"We gotta get out of here!" Barry exclaimed. His first reaction was to speed them out of there...until he realized he couldn't. "I don't have my powers," he realized in horror.**_

 _ **"Barry, I can't run…" Belén said fearfully as if she knew what was going to happen next.**_

 _ **"It's okay, we'll just go as far as you can," Barry tugged her hand forwards and made her at least sprint. He had no idea where those damn bullets were coming from except that they were nonstop.**_

 _ **He was about to turn them down a new block when he felt Belén's shake and scream. When he looked back, he saw a red dripping from the back of her neck. There was a bullet in the back of her head.**_

 _ **As quickly as the bullet came, the life slipped from her eyes. And Barry got to see it firsthand and up close.**_

 _ **"No! No! NO!" He screamed as he caught Belén's body from falling. Still, with his own body shaking, he dropped to his knees, with his arms cradling her body. "Belén!" he cried out but she was motionless. Her eyes were open, but still.**_

 _~ 0 ~_

" _Earthquakes don't happen in Central City!" Belén shrieked as she clung onto a pillar of the front porch._

" _Well, they do!" Barry tried to find his footing anywhere he could._

 _The house was shaking and grumbling. Belén's eyes widened when she saw cracks started to run down from the pillar she was holding. Her first instinct was to let go, but in doing so she almost fell back if Barry hadn't caught her._

" _We gotta get out of here!" he tried pushing them forwards, but every time he took a step the shaking forced them back 2 steps._

" _How strong is this house?" Belén's gaze was rising as she saw the cracks spreading on the porch's ceiling. The cracks then became loud groans releasing bits of cement._

" _Move!" Barry tried pushing her forwards again. She put all her effort into running but the shaking was too damn hard._

" _AH!" she screeched when a chunk of a pillar slid off its place and fell just in front of her feet. She once again moved but with one hand fiercely holding onto Barry's. They just needed to get off the porch and onto the yard where they could wait the earthquake out._

 _But things went too fast._

" _Belén!" Barry suddenly screamed before shoving Belén forwards with all his might. She toppled over the front steps with her own scream, but as soon as she raised her head off the ground she saw the porch ceiling crumble down over Barry._

" _BARRY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "NO! NO!" she scrambled to her feet however she could and made way for the porch. Her vision was blurry but she saw dust and the pile of ceiling pieces over the porch. She tried to use her vines to take the pieces off, but to her horror she couldn't._

 _She didn't have her powers._

" _No! No! C'mon!" she pulled and pulled at one piece but it was too heavy. With all her sobbing, she didn't even realize the shaking had stopped. All she knew was that Barry was trapped underneath and she couldn't save him. She dropped to her knees in front of the pillage and sobbed._

~ 0 ~

Datura had each of her hands touching Belén's and Barry's arms while she had her eyes closed. Soon as she opened her eyes, she met Poison Ivy's intent gaze from across.

"Well?" the ginger had her arms crossed.

A slight smirk spread across Datura's eyes. She was gleeful but she wanted to show some self control. She drew her hands from each of the metas' arms and sighed happily. "They're so distraught. Poor little soulmates have lost each other in such wicked ways. I only thank these powers of mine for letting me enter the mind."

"What now, then?" Poison Ivy walked towards them. "They're at their weakest, physically and mentally. Let's take Belén and go."

Before Datura could agree or disagree, a powerful blast of air threw her and Poison Ivy across the room.

"You're not taking my friend anywhere," the Tempest appeared in the air with her hands ready for a fight.

"Is this the Tempest I've read about?" Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow at the meta.

Datura groaned in annoyance. "More like a nuisance! Take care of her!"

"Fine, but we're getting the hell out of here with Belén!" Poison ivy got up on her feet and shot a vine directly at Nina.

However, a dark magenta vine ruptured the ground underneath Poison Ivy and chucked her to the side like actual trash. Datura blinked as her partner screamed before crashing down on the ground. When Datura turned back to Nina, she saw the latter was not alone anymore.

Black Orchid, donning a new magenta and black colored one-suit, stood tall and proud. Her face was covered with a long black mask.

"You have a Black Orchid in this world too?" Datura gritted her teeth together.

"It wouldn't be the best world if it didn't," Black Orchid flashed her a smirk.

"You should know I killed her too," Datura's eyes flashed a wicked magenta color not previously seen before.

And that was recorded by both the Tempest and Black Orchid. STAR Labs wanted every angle covered in order to use it against Datura later on.

"You're going down just like her," Datura's voice overlapped with that of a woman's. Purple vines wrapped around her arms as she raised them to fire strong, magenta bolts. At least, they looked like bolts.

Black Orchid's eyes widened before she jumped out of the way. As each of the magenta 'bolts' landed, they spread around.

"What is _that_?" Nina blinked in horror as she watched it suck the color off the ground it was spreading on.

"Chloroplast," Black Orchid swallowed hard and shot Datura a glare.

Datura just smirked. She raised her hands in an 'I've got more' motion. Black Orchid charged towards her, forgetting her fears for a moment. Datura welcomed her with a series of more chloroplast bolts that Black Orchid would just barely dodge.

" _Hey Nina, get Belén and Barry_ ," Cisco's voice instructed from their comms.

"Yeah, I'll get them," Nina nodded and turned for her friends lying unconsciously on their beds. She flew towards them only to be shot down with a vine. Her face hit the ground first, making sure to warn Nina she'd have bruises later on.

"You're not touching them," Poison Ivy was back in the game and was angrier than ever.

With a groan, Nina turned flat on her back. She drew one leg up as if she were going to sit up but instead pushed it forwards to release another blast of air. It rocked Poison Ivy back, despite her efforts to stay still, and gave Nina the chance to get up.

"Where'd they fish you out from, huh?" Datura threw her best punch across Black Orchid's face. She smirked as she watched Black Orchid rub her cheek.

Course her smugness was part of her problem.

Black Orchid swung back then shoved Datura down. "You're one confident bitch, but that's going to be your downfall."

Now it was Datura's turn to rub her chin, and when she did she felt drips of blood from her upper lip. With golden eyes she rose from the ground and delivered a series of electric bolts. "I can't be defeated, you idiot. I am literally invincible," she declared, once again with a second voice overlapping with her own.

Black Orchid might have been a tiny scared there. She retreated to hide behind a crate while Datura began firing the electric bolts. Meanwhile, the Tempest flew to avoid Poison Ivy's entangling vines.

"Nina, get Belén! And Barry!" Cisco exclaimed again.

"I am trying my best here!" the woman snapped.

"We know," Caitlin agreed, "But if you get them out of that coma, it'll be a lot easier to take Datura and Poison Ivy down."

Nina stopped flying all of a sudden and whirled around. Another vine was coming for her so she twirled in the air and forced the vine in a different direction. She then created a miniature cyclone that she released straight for Poison Ivy. The ginger hadn't been expecting that for sure.

There was a clear satisfaction in Nina's face when she heard Poison Ivy's garbled screams. She flew back towards Belén and Barry and landed between their beds. "I have no idea what to do here. Do I just pull the wires off their faces or…?"

"Yes!" went both Cisco and Caitlin.

With a shrug, Nina yanked the wires off Belén's face first. As soon as they were off her skin, Belén awoke with a sharp gasp. She sat upright on instinct with wide, blinking eyes.

"Barry!" she cried horrifically.

"You're fine!" Nina put her hands on Belén's shoulders. "Belén, listen, you're fine! It wasn't real!"

Belén breathed heavily as reality set around her. "I was - I was…" she couldn't even come up with the right words to describe the horrific events she experienced.

"You're good," Nina offered her a smile. "Datura put you in a dream world where she controlled everything."

"Barry died…" Belén swallowed hard, almost crying there and then.

"But he didn't!" Nina moved aside and showed her that Barry was safe (in what fit anyways) and lying next to them. "He's right here. He's in a dream world too."

"Barry!" Belén bolted from her bed, ignoring the fact or feet were a little wobbly, and rushed up to Barry's side. Her eyes looked over the wires attached to his face and without hesitation she ripped them right off.

Like her, Barry woke up gasping and sat upright with the same horrific face. "Belén!" he screamed but Belén grabbed his face and turned his head to her.

"I'm here! It's me!"

Barry quickly looked her over and since he saw her back in her suit and it with no blood on her, he knew this had to be the real world. "Oh my God," he pulled her into a tight hug. "You died…"

"So did you," she choked the words out. She couldn't possibly hug him tighter and yet she needed to be closer to him. "You died saving me and I - I couldn't save you. I-I didn't have my powers and I…"

"I know," Barry kissed her head. "I didn't have my powers either."

"Sounds like Datura put you through hell," Nina's voice drew them apart for a moment. "Might I suggest a little revenge?" She made a gesture to the scene in front of them.

Datura was firing at Black Orchid with silver laser beams.

Belén didn't need to be asked twice. For once, she didn't care about the logics. She only wanted pain. Her skin started turning green and scaley, quicker than it ever had before.

"Datura," She darkly muttered and marched forwards.

"This might not be the best way to fight…" Barry trailed off when he knew Belén wouldn't stop to think about it. If she had gone through something similar to what he had, there was no way in hell she would stop until Datura was down.

Black Orchid's feet we're scraping against the cement as she was being forced back with the beams being shot at her. She didn't know she was about to have backup from the person she was meant to be saving. Belén swing a vine like a lasso and smacked it against Datura's side. Before the Earth 2 metahuman could realize what hit her, Belén struck down another vine that hit Datura right on her face. Needless to say it left several deep, open wounds.

Poison Ivy had finally detangled herself from the cyclone the Tempest sent her way and caught sight of what the Azalea had done to her partner. Just as she was about to run towards them, the Flash zipped up in front of her.

"I don't think so," he shook his head at her.

Poison Ivy's lips curled into a snarl. This plan was about to blow up in their face and of course Datura wouldn't see it because of her rage. She needed to get them out of there now.

Belén had jumped on Datura and punched her consecutively. "You made me think he was dead! I couldn't save him and it was all just some game to you!?"

Datura grabbed Belén's arms and butted heads with her. When Belén hit the ground, Datura paid her with the same coin and jumped on her to punch her. "It was my own personal nightmare just for you! Because I want you to know that _I_ am in control of your life. And that your life...it's going to shatter into pieces like mine did. Only yours will end with your death."

"Get off of her!" Black Orchid kicked Datura's in the face and sent the meta back.

Soon as Poison Ivy meant to act, Barry did too. He swung an arm to stop her but she ducked. She retaliated by sliding a leg underneath and knocking him down. From above, Nina delivered new air blasts. While Poison Ivy struggled to stay on her feet, Barry got back up and started running in a circle as fast as he could.

Poison Ivy knew exactly what that meant. "Datura, we gotta get out of here!"

"No!" her partner screamed. She was facing off Belén and Shivhan with everything she had. Red energy just narrowly missed Shivhan's arm. Electric bolts could have almost fried Belén's left leg.

Belén did her best to keep up her front. She threw her own Chloroplasts, though without the sucking-energy part since she didn't yet own that ability. One of them did catch Datura's leg and it angered her. More fiercely than ever Datura's eyes glowed an orange hue before releasing lasers. Black Orchid swooped in front of Belén and raised tendrils of magenta vines as a shield for them both.

"Datura, LET'S GO!" Poison Ivy furiously shouted. She could see the paleness in her partner's face even from where she was. Datura was over exerting herself all over again. "We need -" her scream echoed in the room when Barry's thunder bolt struck her square in the chest. Her body crashed against the wall, falling over.

Datura suspended her fight and saw where her partner had landed. "No!" The orange hue disappeared from her face. She dashed towards Poison Ivy and without glancing back at the group, Datura vanished with her altogether with an electronic zap.

~0~

Caitlin conducted thorough mental examinations for Belén and Barry the moment they got back. She wanted to be 110% sure that neither were in any harm thanks to Datura.

"It doesn't look like either of you have any residual energy from that machine you were strapped to," Caitlin was happy to report after two hours of exams.

There was a mutual relief amongst the metas as well as the rest of the group crowding their room.

"How'd this even happen to you?" Iris asked the two in question.

Belén exchanged a glance with Barry, neither seeming to sure of their timing. "I was just...I was outside, moping I guess, when I saw this hue of energy at a distance," Belén explained first. "I thought it was Datura so I followed it and it brought me downtown where sure enough she was there. I fought her until she told me she had Barry."

"So you just let her take you?" Barry frowned at her. "Belén-"

She raised her hand to stop whatever he was going to say. "I figured she'd wake me up when we were at her lair or something and then we could escape together."

"But she didn't," Veronica spat. Out of the entire group, she was the only one who looked _mad_.

"Mom-"

"- _what_ are you going to tell me, Belén!? Look at yourself!" Veronica made a gesture at Belén's current appearance.

She had a few bruises on her face, as well as the imprint of the electrodes that had been stuck to her face. There was a cut on her lower lip, but to be honest...Belén felt physically fine. Her mentality, however, was another story.

"You _need_ to stop all this nonsense before you get yourself killed!"

Barry gulped when he remembered his personal nightmare.

"Are you kidding me?" Belén hopped off the bed to face her mother. "Today more than ever proved I need to stop Datura. If I don't fight her, she'll come after anyone and do anything she can to hurt them. She's a danger-"

"-that is going to get you _KILLED_!" Veronica frantically shouted with her entire body practically shaking. For a moment, the others sympathized with her (especially Joe). "Don't you see that!? She could have killed you today, Belén! You were at her _mercy_! You don't always get lucky Annah-Belén!" She looked around to see if anyone would back her up, or even if Belén would give in.

But she didn't. Belén just gave a small shake of her head.

" _Fine_ ," Veronica whispered. "But I will not be here to watch you get yourself killed." She stormed out of the room and the cortex altogether, just barely avoiding Shivhan coming the opposite way.

"You know," Joe spoke up after a few seconds, "Not to side with her, but...I see what she means as a parent."

"I know," Belén sighed, but he shook his head at her.

"No, you don't. None of you do because you're not parents. It's hard watching you-" Joe pointed at Barry, "-go out there, not knowing if you'll come back. I haven't had the misfortune of losing you or Iris, so I can't imagine what Veronica must feel knowing that she lost two of her kids to this metahuman world."

"I'm not saying she's wrong," Belén folded her arms, "But it's not like I'm going to listen to her and stay away. She needs to understand it's my choice and right now, I'm choosing to fight Datura."

"Not today you're not," Cisco pointed at her and even Barry. "You two need to get some rest because those nightmares could not have been easy. Now I've already put a new tracker for your suit Bells but you can take it easy."

"What if she comes back?" Shivhan spoke up for the first time since she joined the group.

"They won't," Barry assured her. "They're back on Earth 2."

"How'd this disappear?" Shivhan then asked when she remembered the odd electronic zap she'd witnessed.

"I think it's a gadget or something..."

"A dimension-teleporter," Harry corrected. "On my world, there's a meta who can...cross dimensions. Reverb. It's well known that he and Datura are pretty...close. He must have created the device and fused his powers with it."

"Well, that's lovely. Give the siphoner the ability to cross dimensions too," Iris sourly said. "It's not like she's deceiving, intelligent, powerful..."

Belén scoffed. "Where is the fairness in that? Do you know how hard it is to fight her? It's like every time I have her, she's one step ahead of me. Whatever I throw at her, she expects it. I don't know how she does that."

"And she's very good at creating nightmares," Barry hated to admit. "She got every aspect of our world right. Like... _how_ would she know that I worked at my lab? That Belén's favorite color is pink because it's from Azaleas. The only thing she got wrong was that Belén is _not_ a crazy sleeper and that she works as a reporter, not a botany scientist."

"Of course," Belén agreed with a small frown. "I barely move when I sleep and I don't know the first thing about botany science."

Something in Harry's mind started working as he thought about these small details no one was probably paying attention to.

"But you're kind of right," Belén said a moment after thinking of her own world. "She got you working at your lab, the Barry from my world knew I liked planting Azaleas in our yard."

Something snapped inside Harry's brain. ' _It's like every time I have her, she's one step ahead of me._ ' He turned away from the group, his feet moving slowly in the beginning. ' _Whatever I throw at her, she expects it._ ' His feet picked up his pace and before he knew it, he was leaving STAR Labs.

~ 0 ~

"Thanks for coming to help," Belén stood in front of Shivhan. The cortex was empty now except for them two. Before leaving, Cisco and Caitlin had informed Belén what led Shivhan to decide to help them. Belén felt like an apology was very much due here.

Shivhan had neatly folded her new suit and left it on top of the desk. "Yeah, well, I was chipped so..."

"You weren't," Belén awkwardly smiled at her. "It was just a lie so you would help us. Sorry about that. And...I'm sorry for kidnapping you. I was a bit desperate."

"And now I know why," Shivhan sighed. "I heard the stories about this Datura. I actually read your articles about her before any of this. I thought if I kept myself hidden, she wouldn't hurt me. But then there were robberies here and there, and people getting hurt...I couldn't stay away. One month was actually my longest hiding period."

"I'm sorry," Belén shook her head. "I swear I will make her go away so you and everyone else can feel safe again."

"Yeah," Shivhan nodded, "And I'm going to help you however I can. Starting with the Green."

Belén blinked. "What?"

Shivhan smiled, borderlining a smirk. "That bitch Datura is so confident I wanna wipe that smugness right off her masked face."

A small smile spread across Belén's face. "Really? Even after I kidnapped you?"

"Bold move. Kinda like you better for it."

"Oh my God, thank you!" Belén hugged her excitedly, though the bouncing was not something Shivhan was there for. She was a bit taller than Belén so it felt like she was hugging a child.

"Yeah...okay," Shivhan detached herself from Belén. "I'm not into hugs that much. So if I'm staying...does that mean Cisco will make my new suit better?" Belén nodded. "Awesome!"

"Bells?" Barry came into the cortex, though slowly in case the two women weren't finishing talking.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow to start training," Shivhan pointed at Belén then swiped her suit off the desk, keeping it nicely tucked between her arms.

"Wait, what?" Barry's clueless expression followed her as she walked towards the corridor. "You're staying?"

"Yup! See you tomorrow, new buddies!" she winked at them then disappeared.

"Something tells me she's going to be an interesting one," Belén said after a moment's thought.

Barry smiled at her, happy to see she was finally going to get the help she wanted. "You want to go home, then?"

"Yeah..." Belén sighed and glanced back at her suit on display. "It's not like she'll be showing up anytime soon. She got quite her game today. I can't believe we fell for her trap. How did she draw you in, though?"

"She had your suit's tracker, making us think you were there at the warehouse. I went to look for you there and instead I got Poison Ivy," Barry scowled. He still couldn't believe he hadn't seen the ginger coming for him.

"...what was your world like?" Belén asked after a moment. She side-glanced him with an expression indicating he didn't have to share if he didn't want to.

But instead, Barry agreed to answer once they were safe at home in the comfort of each other. He took them to her apartment where they found a spot on the couch. There they told each other what Datura had forced them to dream of; how their perfect worlds turned into nightmares with each other's deaths.

"I didn't have powers so I couldn't save you," Barry held Belén close when he remembered the bullets and the blood from her dream's counterpart. "And then you were gone...with the baby."

Belén snuggled to his chest. "Our baby? I'm sorry she made that happen." She felt her face warm up just thinking about the fact her other self had been 'pregnant' with their child. Of course, it was the same thing when she told Barry about her world where they were just a week from being married.

"I'm sorry she made your nightmare happen," Barry kissed the top of her head. "But you know that I would save you no matter what."

"Your death wouldn't be saving me, idiot," she looked up at him. "So don't you ever get that idea in your head. We either survive together or we die together. That's it."

Her hands found his face and as she stroked soft circles on his skin, they rested foreheads with each other. Eventually, they kissed. And because of the terror they lived, there was a lot to kiss for. Neither would say it then, but their kisses had changed into something _deeper_. Perhaps it was because of what they'd seen and gone through, or maybe it was the fact they were aware of what the future could hold for them if they wanted it.

~ 0 ~

A breach whirled into existence on Earth 1, allowing Datura to cross over. Soon as she touched ground, she saw Harry standing across.

"First time you summon me," the metahuman folded her arms. "Can I expect Belén's body behind you?"

"I know who you are," Harry went straight for the point. He'd been thinking this over for a few hours now and he couldn't be more sure of it. It all made sense. It was actually so stupid that he hadn't seen it from the very start.

Datura had a laugh. "Of course you do."

"I _do_ ," Harry reiterated with a sharpness that silenced Datura. He started taking slow steps towards her while he explained his conclusion. "It's been staring us right in the face and we missed it. _I_ missed it," he put a hand on his chest, exhibiting true offence with himself that he had been so clueless. "Belén's been saying it over and over. You're always one step ahead of her, one step ahead of Barry. You're evenly matched against Belén. Every punch she throws, you expect it and have one better. Even from the very start. You _knew_ who the Azalea was. You knew who the Flash was. You knew all these details about Belén, like what her favorite color was. It wasn't because you did your research. You just _knew_. And how would you know them? How could you always be one step ahead of Belén?" Harry stopped right in front of Datura, looking her (for the first time since he had the misfortune of meeting her) directly in her dark, chocolate brown eyes. Despite her position, Datura's red lips were quirking into a smirk. Harry remained emotionless, yet still confident he knew what was going on. "You know everything because you _are_ Belén."

The smirk on Datura turned into outright smugness. She brought one of her gloved hands to her mask and carefully pulled it off her face. "Took you long enough." Earth 2 Belén Palayta looked exactly the same as her Earth 1 doppelganger, only she owned a darkness no other doppelganger could match.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

BAM. I've been waiting to reveal that one ever since Datura was first introduced! I originally had it planned to be revealed earlier but I felt like it fit better here. So, did anyone see that coming? It's literally foreshadowed in the story cover page. Hope y'all paid attention to it!

And a lovely little fun fact here: one of the girl names dream-Belén listed is the actual name I'm giving to hers and Barry's daughter in a much later story. Remember that I'm currently writing season 4 so I have to keep season 5 in mind as I'm doing it and...well...it happened ;)

I didn't give a full description of Black Orchid's suit because I haven't really finalized what I wanted it to look like. I'll post it soon! And yes, the title of the chapter totally came from Supergirl's season 1 episode 'For the Girl Who has Everything'. Felt like it truly fit here.


	13. Never Be the Same

Harry sat alone in the workshop, doing nothing of work. His mind was too cluttered with recent revelations to focus on the new task he was commanded to do.

 _Belén Palayta, in all her versions, remained a youthful beauty. Least that's what the Earth 2 version firmly believed. Though she felt she was the superior one for obvious reasons._

 _Datura tossed her mask at Harry, which the man scrambled to catch for some reason. He held the mask tightly between his fingers._ _"It was always you…" he whispered and looked up to meet a darkened, sinister face._

 _"Always me," she mimicked his tone dramatically._

 _"Why do you need Belén?"_

 _"Isn't it obvious?" Datura started making small steps to the side as if she we're going to be circling him. "Belén is my doppelganger. I am sick. She is not. Do the math, will you?"_

 _Harry examined her paleness which, due to her mask being off, he could see the stark difference between her and Earth 1 Belén. The Earth 2 doppelganger had noticeable bags underneath her eyes, her lips slightly chapped, and there were stains of dried blood above her lips._

 _"Your powers," he realized. The corpses they would find on Earth 2, specifically the botanical metahuman corpses left behind, weren't a random murder spree. Datura was searching for something within those metahumans. "Is that what's making you sick?"_

 _Datura smirked and gave a small nod. "It seems my siphoning powers are stronger than I thought. I thought I could find a cure amongst botanical metahumans on Earth 2 but each time I absorbed their powers...I only got worse. But then…" she stopped walking and turned completely to face Harry, "...Zoom found a breach. He opened the portal to a new world...and I learned there was another me. A doppelganger."_

 _"And that's why you had Al Rothstein, Atom Smasher, shoot Belén at her show…" Harry had heard about that story and thought it had just been a random cynical idea._

 _Datura once again nodded. "I needed to know whether or not my doppelganger was a metahuman like me. I succeeded. Earth 1 Belén Palayta was a botanical metahuman just like me. Well," she smiled to herself, "being weaker but I'll take what I can get."_

 _"So that's how you knew everyone's identity. I assume they were your friends on Earth 2."_

 _"Not all," she winked. "I met some after...I became this," she made a gesture at herself. "So now, here's the thing, you can tell everyone who I am but the moment you do you'll have to admit you've been helping me out this whole time. And then, you know, there's Jesse in the mix…" she paused when Harry glared. "So let's just be good and quiet. Oh, and before I leave, someone wants to talk to you."_

Because really the last thing Harry needed, and wanted, in that moment was to come face to face with Zoom himself. He'd been keeping a silent watch over Harry and all his 'minions' until he deemed it ready for his interference.

Harry was tasked with stealing Barry's speed at all costs.

~0~

"No, seriously, I should go-" Belén was cut off with another kiss from Barry. He leaned her back against a table in his lab and kept his arms on either side to prevent her from escaping. Belén once more pulled away from him, slightly chuckling. "Show your professionalism, will you? You _work_ here."

Barry smirked and looked at the doorway but of course there was no one around. "So you come in here all sad and you expect me _not_ to try and make you feel better?"

Belén let her arms rest over his shoulders, bringing him closer again. "I expected words of comfort because my Mom refuses to talk to me...not a straight up makeout session."

"I saw no rules against it," Barry shrugged and casually leaned for another kiss.

While Belén loved receiving such kisses, she willed herself to pull back. "Seriously, someone can walk in. Like Joe, or Patty, or your _boss-_ -" she jabbed a finger on his chest, "-who can fully fire you for it."

"As long as it's not your mother, I'm okay."

Belén laughed to herself. "She scares you?"

"A bit, yeah…"

"Well, she's mad with _me_ not you, so she probably likes you a whole lot more than me right now," Belén said with a sigh. Her mood was shifting again.

"Hey," Barry cupped her face, "We'll think of something okay?"

"Not if you keep kissing me we won't," Belén playfully gritted her teeth.

"Alright, I'm done…for now…" Barry cleared his throat and moved his hands to her waist, wrapping them around her. He could see that despite Belén playing games and being sarcastic, she was still overly affected by her mother's distance from her.

After revealing she was the Azalea, Veronica had refused to talk with Belén despite the latter's attempts to explain things in a better light. The problem wasn't that Belén hadn't told Veronica right away - Veronica had insisted that Belén keep the Azalea dead in order be safe. Belén, of course, would not agree to that. Thus, the cold war began between them. Veronica would not speak to her daughter unless Belén agreed to leave the vigilante side behind. Since it was nearing Christmas and things had yet to get better, Belén was struggling to maintain optimistic.

"I should go try again," Belén said quietly. "I should go try talk to my Mom again - she's still downstairs, no?"

"I...I think…" Barry nodded, "...but I think you should give it a rest for today. You just talked to her earlier and she…"

"Blew me off, yeah," Belén recalled quite clearly.

"Tomorrow you can try again, with new ideas and fresher mind."

"Okay," Belén gave in, deciding there wasn't enough energy and patience left in her for another round with her mother. It was also rather embarrassing trying to play it cool among the other cops when her mother left her in the middle of a conversation. "I should go. I have to go train with Shivhan then I told Iris I'd do some Christmas shopping with her later today." She turned to get her purse from the table. "I've got a full day."

"Ooooh," Barry hugged her from behind, "Christmas shopping already? Are we going to buy me cool things?"

Belén smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I was thinking some nice duct tape for that big mouth of yours."

"Well-" Barry said, a bit offended, "-as long as we're thinking about each other."

Belén smirked and slung her purse over her shoulder then turned to face him. "I love you, but you talk too much and...it makes me want to hit you with a book."

"Uh, do I need to remind you of your nickname in college? What was it again?" Barry pretended to think. "Motor-mouth-Belén! There you go!"

Belén laughed. "Yeah, alright, I was trying to be funny. You know I'll definitely do my best to get you something 'cool'."

Barry's face softened and could not resist to give her another kiss. "You know I'm only playing too. You don't have to actually buy me anything."

"I think we both know it's not obligatory, but we like seeing each other happy, so…" Belén kissed him one last time then backtracked towards the door. "I'm going to the mall...and finding you something…cool."

"And I will do the same when I get out of here," Barry promised.

"You better," Belén warned him and meant to finally leave when she stopped suddenly and called out, "Hey, I was thinking about inviting Patty and Shivhan over to your place for Christmas. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Barry actually mentally reprimanded himself for not thinking about that earlier.

"I just thought...well, Shivhan says she doesn't have family in the city, so…"

"No, yeah, it's really okay," Barry reassured.

"Okay. Bye!" Belén beamed and went off, thinking she would stop by Patty's desk before leaving to invite her then go off to meet with Shivhan.

~ 0 ~

Belén sat cross-legged on the ground of the training room with her eyes closed. A few feet in front of her was Shivhan who was doing the same thing. They'd been attempting to get Belén through to the Green. But that was hours ago. It was no surprise that Belén was beginning to get antsy and disappointed she hadn't made any progress.

"Belén, stop moving," Shivhan hissed after hearing the small shifts from Belén. "The first time you get through to the Green you have to be still and calm."

"I know but I'm tired of sitting like this," Belén groaned and opened her eyes. "I've got nothing."

Shivhan sighed because she knew Belén was right. She opened her eyes and threw a look at the training room. "This stupid room isn't the type we need. Don't you guys have like a greenhouse or something?"

"Greenhouse? For what?"

Shivhan now threw a look at Belén. "For _you_! You're a botanical metahuman. You should have a greenhouse here, or something akin to it so that you can meditate and just...be one with the source of your powers."

Belén liked the idea. It would be nice to have a place for herself to be at peace, or at least to practice. "I don't have that here because I never thought of it," she admitted.

"Hm, well maybe it's time to start thinking about yourself a little more." Shivhan started getting up on her feet. "I know you guys are really big on the whole 'team' thing but sometimes...there is nothing wrong with thinking about yourselves _individually_."

"I mean, we do, just…" Belén stopped when she realized Shivhan could be right. They were just so used to the team dynamic that none of them had really stopped to consider each other's individuality.

"Let's try again later," Shivhan held a hand out for Belén. The ombre-blonde took it and got up on her feet. "Maybe a fresh clear mind will do the trick."

Belén nodded.

~ 0 ~

Belén and Iris got straight to work on their Christmas shopping as soon as they met up. Iris was winning the game when she claimed two presents for her father and Barry, while Belén had barely gotten a perfume she thought Caitlin would like. Belén had always been a slower shopper in comparison to the great Iris West. As they stepped out of yet another store, both having bought items for Cisco, Nina, they headed to find another.

"I'm actually a bit stumped on a couple present ideas," Belén admitted. Iris nodded but Belén missed the solemnity in the woman's face. "Like, should I get something for my mother? Maybe it could break the ice between us. And then there's Barry. You know, I joked that I would buy him duct tape for his big mouth but when I really think about it I don't actually know what to get him. I mean what do you buy for-" she then whispered, "-the Flash?" her voice returned to normal volume afterwards. "Last year I didn't get him anything because of my father's death and he got me something really sweet. I _need_ to make up for it. Maybe you could - oh my God Iris!"

Without her knowing, Iris had started to silently cry.

"Yup, I ramble too much - it's my curse. You should have slapped me to stop," Belén took Iris to a nearby bench and sat them down. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry," Iris sniffled, clearing her face. "I-I didn't want to do this here. I w-wanted to find...to find Barry for...some advice…"

"Stuck with me, I'm afraid," Belén comfortingly rubbed Iris' arm.

"Don't say that," Iris raised her head and took in a small breath. "You've been my best friend for a long while now."

"If you want to tell me...what's going on...I'll be glad to listen…"

Iris nodded. "You remember when you told me that I should investigate Francine?"

"Yeah, and you did," Belén recalled. "But what's that got to do with it?"

"I was so mad with everyone when I discovered that Barry was the Flash and you were the Azalea-"

"Also remember that," Belén awkwardly cleared her throat. "Which I totally understood because of MY my experience."

"Well now I understand," Iris' slumped her shoulders dejectedly. "When I found out about this...I didn't know what to do."

"Found out about what?"

"When Francine came back, my Dad told me not to trust her and he was right. I didn't know how much. When my mother left us, she was pregnant. She had a son. Joe's son. My brother."

Belén's eyes widened, completely shocked. She then got to wondering how Iris could hide it along for so long...and how she'd managed not to burst with the secret. "Um, w-what's his name?"

"Wally," Iris felt even worse when she spoke her brother's name for the first time. "Wally West. When I found out, I told Francine to leave and never come back and to never tell my dad, but…"

"It's eating you up, isn't it?" Belén could easily see for herself.

Iris nodded her head. "I feel... I feel like this is hollowing me out. Every time I look at my Dad, I feel like I'm hurting him. I don't... I don't know what to do."

"I think we both know that you DO do know. But you're scared so that's why you're here telling me about it," Belén put her arm around Iris' shoulders. "I get it. Telling a secret is not easy. Not that big anyways."

"If I tell my Dad it's going to kill him."

"It won't," Belén disagreed. "But listen, you wouldn't have to tell him alone. I mean, I could be there if you'd like or...or if you prefer it to be Barry - who I'm sure would support you if you told him - then you can take him."

Iris thought about telling Barry, thinking it would be better. She just knew that she needed to tell her dad about Wally because it was leaving her like an un-dead woman.

"C'mon," Belén got up from the bench and helped Iris by picking up her bags along with hers. "We can shop tomorrow. You need to get this done tonight because I want a fully rested Iris for tomorrow."

Iris smiled and cleared the last of her tears from her face. "But you're not finished shopping."

"Yeah, well, you can make it up to me by helping me decide what to get Barry. But tomorrow," Belén warned. "Tonight it's about you."

"I-I think I need to talk to Barry first," Iris decided, and thankfully Belén was 100% behind her.

~ 0 ~

Shivhan had lived alone almost as soon as she started college. Even when she dropped out, she found a job quick and endeavored to support herself. It wasn't that her parents never offered to help, it was simply because Shivhan preferred it this way. She liked being on her own. Unfortunately, those customs now made it a bit difficult for her to get along with others.

Shivhan came straight into the cortex without so much of a noise to make her presence known. It wasn't until she slammed a hand down on the desk, making Cisco and Barry jump in their chairs, that she had made herself known.

"Dude!" Cisco gawked at such a rude mannerism, not that Shivhan cared.

"We need to talk about renovations in this place!" her straight-to-the-point manner made her seem even ruder, but the truth was that she was very direct. She didn't like beating around the bush.

"Renovations?" Barry repeated, appearing to be much more calm than Cisco. The latter always seemed to have an air for dramatics.

"Yo, you _just_ got here!" Cisco frowned. Shivhan rolled her eyes as he went on and on about her being the newbie in the group and that therefore she needed to follow a process or whatnot. "You don't go asking us to tear things down!"

"It's not for me!" she snapped and moved around the desk so that she was closer to the middle of the room. Her eyes laid on Belén's suit as she continued to explain. "Belén is having a harder time accessing the Green than I thought she would. It has come to my attention-" she turned around, her dark hair bouncing with her, "-that she does not have _any_ room in this building to practice."

"What are you talking about? We literally have a room dedicated to training," Barry pointed out but instead of having Shivhan agree she pointed a sharp finger his way with quite a matching face.

" _You_ have a room dedicated to _your_ training! It's spacious for you to run in. Plus, you have that stupid treadmill or whatever-"

Cisco practically jumped out of his chair at the mention of his special treadmill. "-you are not going to diss my treadmill!"

"That's not the point!" Shivhan's voice shook with frustration. "Belén is a _botanical_ metahuman. You do know what that means right? She needs _nature_ around her. Plants? She needs a greenhouse. You know, a room where she can connect with the origin of her powers?"

"Where are we supposed to get a greenhouse?" Cisco frowned. He looked at Barry for some support but it appeared like the speedster was beginning to see what Shivhan was talking about.

"Having something like that would probably help Belén a lot," Barry reasoned. "And it _is_ fair that she have a room just for herself here. One of the things she was really upset about when she moved out of her house was the fact she had to leave behind her garden."

"Every botanical metahuman needs to have a greenhouse-like place," Shivhan crossed her arms. "And since Belén can't focus around here...she needs one _stat_. We can build one here. You guys have a ton of empty rooms."

Barry nodded. "I'm in."

Shivhan smirked. "Excellent. Because you're going to be using those quicky skills of yours to help me build. You, Cisco, are going to help with the architecture. I'm thinking it'll be a fine Christmas present so neither of you tell Belén anything!"

Cisco shrugged. "I guess so. So does that mean you'll be getting us all Christmas presents, then?"

Shivhan's smirk faded away and turned into a frown. "Did you save me from Datura? No? Didn't think so," she wiggled her fingers goodbye and headed out of the room.

"She's a little on the rude side, don't you think?" Cisco made a face that really made it hard for Barry not to laugh.

Luckily, he got a text from Iris to distract him. "Sorry, gotta go," he got up from his seat. "But, uh, have fun with that architecture stuff with Shivhan."

~ 0 ~

Datura sat at the edge of a rooftop, overlooking Central City during its busiest days of the year. Christmas was approaching fast and people were hustling to get everything they needed. Christmas lights had already been put up to decorate the streets and it was really only a matter of time until snow arrived.

Poison Ivy's heels were heard from a distance, but Datura didn't tear her eyes from the city. Even as her ginger partner stopped a short inch away from Datura, the latter kept her gaze directly ahead. She knew exactly what Poison Ivy was going to say and she wasn't interested in hearing it. But of course, that would never stop Poison Ivy.

"Are you sure that was wise? Letting Wells see your face?"

Datura's eyes flickered to her mask sitting right beside her. Still, she showed no degree of regret. "Ever since I told Wells who I really am...I feel like I don't have to wear that thing so much."

"Well," Poison Ivy started sitting down next to her, "You never did. Wearing that mask was _your_ choice."

"You know why I had to do it," Datura muttered as she picked up her mask. "Being Belén Palayta is a curse for me...back home. Here, it's my salvation."

Poison Ivy rolled her eyes. "You're being dramatic-"

"-oh don't start," Datura snapped. "You know exactly what I left behind. Wearing the mask is just the little bit I can do repair a little of everything I did back home."

"You better not be going soft on me, _Datura_." Poison Ivy shifted so that she was facing her partner. "You are _Datura_. One of the most feared metahumans on Earth 2. Close to being Zoom's second hand. _That_ is who you are."

"I know-"

Poison Ivy raised a hand to stop whatever Datura was going to say. "-no, I feel like with this impromptu revelation you're going to forget who you are. You stopped being Belén a long time ago. You are _not_ her. She's dead. But Datura doesn't have to die too."

Datura took a moment to embed those words into her head. She knew Poison Ivy was right. She couldn't spend time thinking about who she used to be. She was a villain - a respected, feared villain. "I am...Datura..."

Poison Ivy raised her head as she watched Datura repeat that sentence over and over for the next minute. "Yes, you _are_. Don't you forget it."

"Not with you around," Datura briefly smiled. She looked down at the mask in her hands for a few seconds then placed it on her face. "I'm taking Christmas off. Zoom's starting to come around for Wells so I say...let's go home and have a very, merry Christmas... _our_ way."

A wide smirk came to Poison Ivy's face fast. "That's the Datura I know." She got up at the same time Datura did. "So, who do we terrorize first?"

"Let's decide when we're back home," Datura smirked just like she usually would. After all, she is Datura.

~ 0 ~

Belén pulled open Jitters' door for herself and Caitlin. The two went straight for the counter to order coffees and some pastries.

"So, how'd things go with your Mom today?" Caitlin asked once they were seated and waiting for their things to be dropped off.

"Umm...same as usual: bad," Belén shrugged. "I'm officially giving up for today. It's a problem for future-me."

Caitlin chuckled lightly. "Well, at least you're taking it one day at a time."

"Eh, not like I have much of a choice. I feel like I could convince my mom things are going to be fine if I just...could talk to her...and show her what we do. But she doesn't want to know anything about STAR Labs right now."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Caitlin assured. "You always find a way."

"Mm," Belén hoped to keep coming up with new ideas. "Enough with this grim subject. It's Christmas. Christmas is coming! Have you finished all your shopping yet?"

Caitlin tilted her head to think about all that she'd bought and after a minute she was proud to nod her head. "Yes! How about you?"

"Almost," Belén bit her lip once she thought about the other problem she was facing. "I'm having trouble coming up with a decent present for Barry. Shopping for everyone else has been super easy. Even Cisco, Harry, and Joe were-" she snapped her fingers, "-super easy. But then this dork of scientist over here has me going crazy! I've no idea what to buy him."

Caitlin titled her head for a minute, thinking of ways to help Belén. Despite her last relationship being her fiancee, she believed she still had some old tricks up her sleeve. "Maybe you're thinking about this wrong. Why not instead of _buying_ something, you... _make_ something?"

Belén stopped to consider the new idea. " _Make_?"

Caitlin nodded her head. "When Ronnie and I had our first year anniversary, Ronnie surprised me with this metal craft that he had made on his own. He engraved our names on it and said that it would hopefully be hung up in our home one day."

Belén's hand flew to her heart as she 'awed'. "That is so sweet. But I can't do anything metal-wise. What could I do for Barry with my skills?"

"I"m sure you can figure it out," Caitlin smiled. "You're the aerial dancer - that screams creativity from a mile away."

"Yeah, I guess," Belén bobbed her head to the side. "I just...want it to be good. Last Christmas I didn't get him anything because of what happened to my Dad. Plus...we're dating and this is our first Christmas together...I want things to be good."

Caitlin had only half a second to smile before Barry himself walked in through the doors. He saw her first then Belén and headed for their table.

"Hey," he greeted Belén with a kiss on the side of her head. "What are we talking about?"

"Just...Christmas," Belén gave a light shrug of her shoulders in an attempt to be casual.

"I'm going to check on our drinks," Caitlin slid off her chair and headed for the counter.

"Hey Bells, I know we haven't really talked about Christmas with everything that's happened..." Barry shifted on his chair to better face Belén, "I know it's difficult because of what happened last year with your Dad..."

Belén gave a small nod of her head. "You mean my Dad being murdered by Thawne? Yeah...that's..." she sighed. She suddenly wished she had her mug of coffee in front of her so she drown it.

"I would understand if you want to skip Christmas altogether."

"No, I...I don't want to skip it," Belén bit her lower lip while she briefly considered Barry's words, but even then she had to reject it. "Yeah, I might be a little down during these next days but...skipping Christmas? That would make me feel even worse. Besides," she started smiling for some reason, "I need to put up my Christmas tree with my star. That's a Palayta tradition." She bumped Barry's arm with her own. "So you want to maybe come help me sometime?"

"What?" the speedster blinked.

"My Christmas tree. Do you want to help me set it up?"

"I thought you just said it was a Palayta tradition...?"

"Yeah, but my Mom isn't talking to me, my sister's in jail, my dad and my brother are dead and..." her smile spread and softened, "Plus...I may or may not love you and would like to include you in this tradition?"

Barry deadpanned her but a few seconds later, his own smile was threatening to appear. "May or may not?"

"May or may not..." she casually shrugged.

"I would love to do that, Bells," Barry leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You want to do it tomorrow?"

"Mhm," Belén's smile was genuine, which led Barry to believe that this Christmas could be a change for her. Last year so many terrible things happened to both of them. It was only fair that this year was perfect for them.

Caitlin was coming back with hers and Belén's drinks, but just as she set them on the table her face morphed into surprise as something (or rather someone) caught her attention at the entrance. "Oh my God..." she whispered.

Belén and Barry looked over their shoulders and saw Jay coming towards them. They hadn't heard from Jay in a while now. As the Earth 2 speedster approached them, the trio could tell that even he was uncomfortable.

"Hi," Jay awkwardly waved a hand. Like him, Caitlin did the same. "I, uh, thought I'd find some of you guys here."

"You were looking for us?" Belén raised an eyebrow, almost tempted to say 'since when' considering his choice to leave them was very clear.

"Yeah, um..." Jay paused for a second, as if to think, "I...I'm here to apologize about...everything. I left when I should have helped you guys. I know Datura and Poison Ivy have been causing havoc in the city and I could've done my part to help you guys. I could've stayed back and helped you train, Barry. I'm really sorry."

The trio exchanged looks amongst each other. They were all really taken aback by this sudden repent, but they knew they were in no position to reject Jay's presence. Besides, they liked Jay. He was actually a good guy and kind of helpful when he wanted to be.

"You're lucky it's Christmas," Caitlin was the one to speak up, but even as she did it quietly no one could take away the big smile on her face.

"Yeah," Jay chuckled but in the same awkward manner from before.

"You're welcome to come back, Jay," Barry said afterwards. "We could always use your help."

"Thanks," Jay nodded at them.

~ 0 ~

Cisco wanted to be angry with Shivhan, he really did, because the woman had practically torn apart a room after only just joining their team. However, she was turning out to be a good architect and engineer. He stood at the entrance of the room while Shivhan fervently worked to spread her vines across the room. She'd been at this the entire day now.

"So when exactly is this room supposed to be done?" Cisco asked out of genuine curiosity. With Barry's help, Shivhan had already replaced the ceiling with glass to allow genuine sunlight into the room. The white concrete floor was replaced with brown tiles meant to give the room a more 'nature' look.

"If I continue working like this then, maybe by the end of the week," Shivhan raised an index finger and made purple flowers bloom around the glass ceiling. A couple vines formed around the glass until it hung down like streamers.

"You know you can take a break, right?"

Shivhan stopped working and glanced sideways. "I know," she smiled. "I just...don't really have anything better to do. I don't work until tomorrow night."

"You're actually going back to the ruddy place?" Cisco made a face.

"I'm not supposed to?"

"No, I meant...you know...why bother going back?"

"Because I need a job, Cisco. Plus, that neighborhood needs Black Orchid. I'm not abandoning them."

Cisco nodded. He could understand that. In fact, he respected that but it still left some other questions unanswered. "So I've been checking who you are..." he only briefly stopped when Shivhan gave him a questioning side-glance, "I need to know that you're not going to betray us, alright? It's happened." Shivhan rolled her eyes and continued to work. "You went to college and...you dropped out."

Shivhan's back was to Cisco so her momentary look of shock that Cisco learned this detail was well hidden from him. "So what? Lots of people do it. Sometimes college isn't for you."

"Except you were so close to graduating. You were on your last semester..."

Shivhan stopped and turned sideways with an irritated expression on her face. "So _what_?" her tone hardened.

"It's just...you had everything to graduate, so...I'm just a little confused how you went from top art-major to..." Cisco made a weak gesture at Shivhan's current state. "Bartender?"

Shivhan humorlessly laughed and stormed up to him, completely missing the fact Cisco had backtracked several steps out of fear. "I said college wasn't for me - why are you so interested in this!?"

Cisco had to lean away from Shivhan (not that it made Shivhan give him any space). "I was just curious-"

"-well _stop_!" she snapped. "I'm not evil, I'm not going to betray you or anyone else! So leave me alone!" she moved past him and stormed out of the room.

~ 0 ~

Harry would never get used to be 'summoned' by these horrendous Earth 2 metahumans. He cursed the day he got involved with them, but here he was back in the same alley Datura often appointed him to...only this time he wasn't meeting the poisonous metahuman.

Zoom stood before him in his pitch-black suit and monster mask. "I've given you enough time, Wells. What's it gonna be?"

Harry glared at the metahuman. Here he was without anyone to celebrate Christmas with and yet it wasn't enough. Zoom was now tasking him with an even more hideous plan. "I know what you're doing," he declared. "I've figured things out, just like I've figured out who Datura is."

"What you do with Datura is none of my concern," Zoom said dismissively. "I told you what I need and what you'd get if you follow through."

"But that's the thing, isn't it?" Harry dared to take a step forwards. "The reason you need _me_ to steal Barry's speed is because Datura can't do it. She's sick. She can't siphon everything like she used to."

"If Datura wants to remain alive then she will figure out a way to cure herself," Zoom also took a step towards Harry. "But whether or not she lives or dies, I _will_ get Barry's speed. The only question is will you do it for me?"

"You've been sending villain after villain from our Earth in order to force Barry to get faster. Because the faster and and stronger he is, the more Speed Force runs through his body. You're fattening him up like a Christmas goose. And how the hell am I supposed to take all of that out of him?"

"You're Harrison Wells. You'll figure a way out."

"Let me see her first," Harry commanded and instead of threatening him or even beating him, Zoom disappeared. A mere second later, he returned with a Jesse in his hand.

She was dirty and tired and full of tears. "Daddy!?" she ran to Harry and threw her arms around him.

Harry clutched her in his hold. He never thought he'd be able to hug her again. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Please don't let him take me back there!" Jesse was sobbing uncontrollably. "They're all crazy! Datura's insane and she keeps-"

But Zoom took her away and put her right back in her cell all in the span of two seconds. "Now decide. In return for your daughter's life…"

Harry's arms were still in the air hugging the space Jesse had been. Without a second thought he answered, "I'll do it. I'll help you steal The Flash's speed."

~ 0 ~

Belén had just finished spreading the last branch of her Christmas tree when she heard a key being stuck into apartment door. A few seconds later, Barry walked in with quite the face.

"You talked to Iris," Belén assumed. It was an inevitable conversation after all.

Barry gave a nod. He shrugged his jacket off and tossed it to the couch. "I cannot believe she has a brother."

"Yeah, you and me both," Belén folded her arms over her chest. "I was surprised and even more that she was able to keep it a secret for this long."

"I don't know how Joe is going to react to all of this," Barry admitted. "I told Iris I'd be there when she told him, but...that's about as much as I can do." And it made him feel useless.

Belén could basically read his mind at this point in their relationship. "You're doing everything you can," she walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, giving a gentle rub as a massage. "Ultimately it's Iris who has to tell Joe the truth."

"I know, but-"

"-and by you being there, you're giving her the support she needs in order to do it."

Barry met her smiling gaze that remained on her face until he smiled too. "I guess you're right..."

"I am," Belén's smile widened. She leaned on her toes to kiss him on the lips. "And your life is a lot easier when you remember that."

Now Barry chuckled. Yeah, he definitely loved her. Which is why it was even more troubling when he remembered that he still didn't have a gift for her this Christmas.

Belén tilted her head slightly when he became silent in his thoughts. "Do you think you want to help me with the tree? Or do you want to hold off on it-"

"-no, let's do it," Barry cut her off because this was really the only thing that he wanted to do that night.

"Are you sure? Because I definitely understand if you want to-"

Now it was Barry who kissed her. "It's almost Christmas and it's our first Christmas as a couple so you bet I want to put up a Christmas tree with you."

A bright blush appeared on Belén's face under his longing gaze. "Okay," she said with the biggest smile.

She took his hand and led him to the boxes she'd already set in the living room. Between the two they unwinded the lights, though for some reason the knot Barry started with got bigger instead of smaller. Belén laughed at his clueless face but she soon regretted it because wrapping it around the Christmas tree proved to be a bigger challenge for her rather than him.

"How did this happen!?" she practically stomped her foot as she put both her wrists in front of her. The lights had wrapped around her wrists instead of the tree.

Barry wanted to laugh really loud but she also looked incredibly adorable which made him want to kiss her senseless. "Belén, I don't even-"

"-do something!" she cried frantically.

Barry dropped his end of the Christmas lights and sped around her to quickly unwind the lights from her wrist. Eventually, the lights dropped to the floor and left Belén free.

"That was not funny," she pointed at him afterwards.

"Kinda was from my end..."

"Just wind the stupid lights already!"

Barry shrugged and once again used his speed to wind the lights around the Christmas tree. When it came to the ornaments, Belén seemed to have a better hold on them. She had an idea of pairing up red, gold, emerald-green and pink with a dash of silver spheres.

"I know they're odd colors but they're _our_ colors," Belén said as she finished putting the last sphere on the tree. "You know-" she stepped back and set her hands on her hips while she gazed at the tree, "-as in the Flash and the Azalea?"

"I love it," Barry grinned. "Makes me feel special."

"That was my intention," Belén sarcastically said before heading for the only box that still held something inside. She pulled out a golden beaded and sequined tree topper and and held it gingerly between her hands. Its gold glimmered even when it wasn't lit by the electricity. It had a pattern of a flower in the middle of the star with sparkling silver beads outlining the shape. "You know this is the Christmas star my Dad had as a kid in Italy...with his family." Belén spoke after a couple minutes. Though with all her memories of her previous Christmases, she didn't even realize she'd stay silent for a while. "He said his mom, my Nona Enger, used it for her family when she was little."

"So it's been in your family for a while, then," Barry could see by the way she held the star so carefully that it still held raw pain for her. It was the same star she hung last year and he doubted she'd ever used a different star for the rest of her life.

"Yeah," Belén bit her lower lip and looked up with fresh tears in her eyes. "Sorry, I'm..."

Barry moved closer to her side and slid an arm around her waist. "Hey," he pressed a kiss to the side of her face. "I know it's hard. It was the same thing when I spent my first Christmas with Joe and Iris instead of my parents."

"How did you get through it?" Belén drew in a shakey breath. "I thought I'd be fine but now it's just...hitting me..."

"That's how it goes. It's not until you do all these traditions that hits you," Barry brought her closer to him. He gazed at their Christmas tree with a small smile. "But I started to realize that just because my parents weren't there anymore, it didn't mean that the traditions had to stop. It actually meant we could create new ones."

Belén nodded her head and looked up at him with a meaningful smile. "I'd love to create new traditions with you."

Together the two walked up to the Christmas tree and, just like last year, Barry picked Belén up so that she could put the Christmas Star up on the tree. He then moved around to plug in the lights. When he did, the Christmas tree twinkled with a series of colors, including its golden star.

There was a pang in Belén's heart, a sad bitter one that reminded her the last time her father helped her put the tree together. Before that, there were good memories with her father and Rayan. How things could change in such little time. But, when Barry moved to stand beside her again, that sad bitterness started fading. The touch of his hand interlaced with hers created a whole new feeling: a warm, joyful one.

She turned her body so that she was facing him and gingerly placed her hands on his face. "I really love you, you know that?" She then leaned forwards and kissed him for a good while.

Barry could feel her smile against his lips, but the more they kissed the less he began to feel it. And to be honest, he himself forgot about their usual smiles and sweet words. Something else was keeping them together and it seemed to get stronger the more time passed. Belén's arms had been wrapped around his neck but one hand lowered to the top buttons of his flannel shirt. At the second button she undid, Barry caught her intentions and - on instinct - pulled away with wide, blinking eyes.

"A-are you-" but once he saw her eyes, he couldn't finish his words. There was a different type of longing look in her eyes that he honestly was not interested in shutting down.

A small smile came to Belén's face as she leaned on him, one hand on his face and the other lingering over the third button of his shirt. "We've been together for a year...I think we might be a bit overdue, right?"

Her roguish smile was so damn _alluring_ that Barry thought it had to be a sin to take it away. "I didn't know there was a due date or anything, but..." With one swift movement (and perhaps his speed), he had taken off her sweater and chucked it over to the living room.

"Nice," Belén briefly looked at her spaghetti strap shirt she was now left in. "Interesting." She leaned on him again and finished undoing the rest of his shirt's buttons. "I'm going to like this interesting."

Barry could honestly say the same thing. He picked her up and let her wrap her legs around his waist. He pulled her into another kiss and took them straight to her bedroom with the intention of kissing her senseless and more.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Christmas in August! But that should be fine, right? I did split the Christmas episode into 2 chapters just because I felt there was a lot of things going on to be placed into 1 chapter.

I know I'm biased because I'm the author but I'm actually really liking Shivhan. I don't know whether or not to make her a one-time character or keep her around for later stories. What do you guys think?


	14. The Heroes of Central City

**Author's Note: I realized that Chapter 12, the second part to 'Black Orchid' was never uploaded so I just did that now. Please go read chapter 12 as it brings closure to the 2-part arc!**

* * *

The sound of a buzzing phone was the alarm that neither Belén nor Barry needed. And it wasn't just one of theirs, it was both their cellphones. Problem was...both phones were somewhere on the ground away from their bed.

"I'm not getting them," Belén sleepily murmured before turning to her left.

"Morning to you too," Barry exhaled and sped out of bed just to find one cellphone. In two seconds he was back, lying next to Belén. "There's like twenty calls from Cisco, from Caitlin, Joe..."

"Basically everyone we want to ignore right now."

Barry laughed and dropped his phone on the ground again then turned to Belén's side. He scooted closer to her and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. "Pretty much, sorry. But good morning, sleep well?"

Even if Belén was looking at him, she could practically hear his big grin. "Don't be a show off." She turned to be on her back and shot him a look. "I don't like a show off."

"Me? Never," Barry wrapped an arm around her waist and closed the (already small) gap between them by scooting her up to him. "I'm so happy, you know that? Really, really happy." He nuzzled his nose on the side of her neck, missing the smile on her face.

He didn't have to tell her, she knew. She could sense it. And she felt sad when she realized she hardly heard him sound so content, relaxed. It was a testament to the challenging lives they led. She supposed it meant that they had to truly value every small moment of happiness they got.

"So am I," Belén said after a moment. She turned her head to meet his face and shared another smile. She then leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his lips. Barry shifted so that he could move his arm from her waist to the back of her head where his fingers could thread through her hair. But of course, just when things were getting heating...the cellphones started buzzing again.

Barry reached for his phone he'd dropped on the floor and answered Cisco's call. " _Yes_?" his tone was rather sharp, which made Belén giggle knowing fully well Cisco would snap at Barry for it. Of course, once Belén saw Barry's eyes widen, she knew something bad happened.

"What is it?" she pushed herself to sit upright. Barry had hung up but he had yet to explain what Cisco so urgently called for. "What's happened?" She watched Barry's face morph into that concern and dread that was usually a part of him. It made her despondent, honestly.

"Mark Mardon broke James Jesse and Snart out of prison," Barry closed his eyes and brought a hand to rub his forehead.

"What?" Belén yelped. "But...what!?"

"I'm so sorry Bells," Barry sighed and dropped his hand to his side. "I thought we could have a day to ourselves but..."

"Hey, it's the lives of heroes, right?" Belén put on her best smile for him. She didn't want him feeling guilty for something that was completely out of his control. "Plus, just because we can't have a day to ourselves doesn't mean the _nights_ are gone too." She smirked then kissed his cheek.

"Does that mean I'm invited again tonight?" Barry gave her own smirk.

"Tonight and all the days after that," Belén bopped his nose then told him it was time to get to work.

~ 0 ~

So in having to fight Mardon, Barry had to reveal the fact he time traveled last year when he was fighting Mardon again. It was a revelation that did end up bringing something good to the table, which was the right weapon they would need to bring Mardon down. Of course, while the team built the weapon - which would once again be a rod or a wand if Cisco had anything to say about it - all they had to do was wait...

...until the next day when the James Jesse, aka the Trickster, made his presence known in the city.

With one public video, he had challenged the Flash to a 'battle' that resulted in - surprise, surprise - a trap with a bomb. What was most surprising for Barry was finding Patty in the same spot, alone, and without intentions of getting back up any moment soon. When he told the story to his friends, no one could really understand the reasons of the woman to put herself in danger like that.

Then, Barry told Belén what happened.

And she knew.

"I'm only telling you this because I know you won't tell anyone else," Belén warned Barry as the two headed down the street towards Jitters.

As soon as she heard the story, Belén made it clear she needed to see Patty, and since Patty was on her lunch break Barry was taking Belén to Jitters so she could do it.

"Patty's a cop because her father was killed by Mardon and she blames it on herself."

"What!? Why would she do that!?" Barry couldn't find a logical reason for that idea.

"Because Mardon killed her dad in a bank on the day she was meant to be there instead. I believe it's called survivor's guilt?"

"That...that is awful…" Barry stopped just in front of Jitters and opened the door for Belén. "But as bad as that is...we can't have her snooping around where she's inevitably going to get hurt."

"I know that," Belén said, soon spotting Patty sitting alone at a table. "Which is why I'm going to talk to her."

"How are you going to explain the fact you knew she was in the same factory as the Flash?"

"It's kind of a rumor that I know you, remember?" Belén replied with a clean smirk on her face.

"Oh, right," Barry, too, began to smirk. "Kinda nice, don't you think?"

"You're an idiot," Belén shook her head, though she smiling too. "But I love you so you get a free pass. Get back to work!"

"Yes ma'am," Barry pretended to salute. He kissed her temple and left her in Jitters.

Belén took a deep breath then headed for Patty's table. It was no surprise to find the blonde cop staring blankly into the wall across her.

"Patty?" Belén approached cautiously. Patty startled from her thoughts and quickly looked down at her meal. "Hey, can I sit?"

"Of course," Patty said, politely, and looked back up with a fake smile. "Lunch break too?"

Belén looked around before she spoke again. "Patty, I know...about the...factory thing…"

Patty's eyes widened, but her shock was soon replaced with confusion. "How do you know that? Not even the station knows it."

"I, um...sort of know the Flash, you know? From a reporter's angle."

"Well…" Patty took a moment to process that, but found she wasn't that surprised either considering she remembered Belén had been saved by said vigilante at one point.

"Patty I don't think I need to go into detail on how dangerous that entire situation was, right?"

"You don't."

"Then why am I here about to do it?"

Patty gave a mild shake of her head. "I'm not about to get scolded by you, alright? You don't understand, just leave it alone."

"I don't understand?" Belén repeated, a tad offended by the statement. But of course Patty didn't know about her father who was murdered by another metahuman.

Patty's eyes glistened with tears. "No, you don't. I _need_ to catch Mardon before he hurts anyone else."

"I'm a bit afraid to think of what you plan to do after you catch him," Belén said quietly. Because she was no stranger to the thoughts running through Patty's head right now.

Patty's surprise was clear, because really how would Belén know of her revenge plans?

"Finding him and arresting him is okay - it's what you do - but I can tell that's not why you're doing it. You're still thinking about your father…"

"And how could I not?" Patty snapped. "He was shot and killed by Mardon when I should have been there instead!" She jabbed a finger to her chest, " _Me_!"

"I'm so sorry, Patty..."

"This is why I became a cop. I joined the meta-human task force exactly for this. It'll be legal when I kill Mardon," Patty said, ever so darkly that it actually produced a shiver in Belén. "I have made my whole life about getting justice for my father, even if it meant I didn't have a life."

"Yeah, believe me, I've seen that story before…" Belén eyed the woman with sympathy on someone else's behalf. "And you know what? It doesn't lead to good things."

"I'll be glad to prove you wrong," Patty bitterly said in return. She started getting out of her chair, getting her purse too.

"Patty if we could just continue talking about this-"

"Belén, I'm sorry - I really am - but you just wouldn't get it. Let me handle this, alright?"

Belén didn't even have the chance to respond because Patty made it her business to leave as fast as possible.

 _That went lovely_. Belén cursed herself for being so useless at that moment. She needed to make Patty understand that in the long run she would get even more hurt. Still, she would probably have to think about a new strategy before she saw Patty again.

Leaving Jitters, Belén checked her phone for the time and decided to at least give it another try with her mother. It was Veronica's day off at the station and Belén recalled something about Santa's lap and Axel. She could put two and two together and that is how Belén found herself at the city's square where Santa was meant to make an appearance to hear all the children's desires for Christmas.

It wasn't hard to spot the loudest four year old coming just from Santa's lap, holding a small, green present in his hands.

"I want to open it now!" Axel was complaining to his grandmother while said woman was barely paying him attention.

"You know the rules, Axel," Veronica merely said.

Axel groaned but his mood was lifted when he saw Belén coming towards them. He gasped and ran straight for her. "Auntie Belén! Look what Santa gave me!"

Belén smiled softly at the boy. "Wow, I wonder what that is."

Axel gave it a light shake. "I don't know. Maybe I can poke a hole, and…"

Belén put a finger on her lips. "Remember what your grandma said?"

Axel sighed, lowering the present. "The rules."

"Exactly," Belén chuckled then faced her mother. Veronica was looking cold as ever. "Mom…"

"You and I both know there is nothing to speak about until you decide that I am right about this," Veronica began with the calmest of moods.

"Mom, c'mon, aren't you a little tired of this same argument? You tell me what to do, I remind you that I'm not five-"

"But I'm almost five!" Axel cheerfully inputted.

"-and then you just yell again," Belén finished, but gave Axel a tiny smile of acknowledgment.

"This is a little more than our usual arguments, Belén. You don't get how dangerous things are out there-"

"I want to disagree there with the utmost respect. I know you're a cop so you know things about this world, but I'm also going to remind you that I have faced my share fair of metahumans now which gives me a little perspective of this world too."

"You have no need to be out there," Veronica gestured to the streets, "Endangering yourself when people like me - like the station - work to keep you all safe."

"What about Flash, Grandma?" Axel had caught onto (at least a bit) over what was being discussed and was eager to remind them of his own favorite metahuman. "He protects too!"

"Exactly," Veronica agreed without a second doubt.

Belén stopped for a moment to process this double-standard. Putting her hands together, she pointed them at her mother. "Do you hear yourself? You think it's okay for Barry to be out there doing what _I_ want to do? Why would that be, mother? Because he's a man?"

"No, because he's not my son."

The words struck deep in Belén that for a moment she didn't really have words to create a comeback. Veronica looked hard at her daughter, hoping that Belén would finally understand where this was stemming from.

"We are the only ones left, Belén," she spoke quietly, "And the last thing I want is to see my only child here...die."

"That's not going to happen-"

"Who says? Who can guarantee me that you won't ever get hurt?" Veronica demanded. Belén truly thought about it for a minute and ultimately came to the answer that of course Veronica already knew.

"Okay, so...I can't promise you that...but I can't stop because you're scared. I have worked my ass off trying to get myself back out on the streets, and I'm not going to stop."

"But what is the _need_!?" Veronica frantically exclaimed.

"It's an explicable feeling, mother," Belén answered softly, a smile gracing her lips. "It's so...amazing...being out there, helping people. I can't give it up. I tried to once and it brought me here."

Veronica shook her head. She grabbed Axel's hand and threw a hard look at her daughter. "This is all nonsense! You're ruining our first Christmas together!"

"Me-" Belén was going to answer in her rightfully offended voice when Veronica added on.

"You have to give up that ridiculous idea of endangering yourself. Until then you can consider Axel and I off your Christmas list." Veronica hurriedly took Axel away.

 _Two fails in one afternoon - how lovely_. Belén frowned and stalked off in the opposite direction.

~ 0 ~

"Wow, this place looks..." Barry couldn't even speak his thoughts on the greenhouse Shivhan had finished for Belén. She'd worked hard and it honestly paid off.

Even though it was still a room inside STAR Labs, it didn't give off the vibe. It had a glass ceiling like nearly any traditional greenhouse would have. It had dark mahogany wood outlining its squares. Most of the ground was actual hardwood floor but there were areas that had sand instead. Those areas then had sprouting bushes of plants. The room had been furnished with bought plants in their pots and others that Shivhan had grown herself. There were a couple of chairs around, though with time maybe they would disappear depending on what Belén would prefer later on. There was a couch as well, facing a small bookshelf that was already stocked up on books. Shivhan explained that they were botanical books, something she thought Belén would be interested in since it was part of who she was.

"I don't know why you act so surprised since you helped me build this place," Shivhan stood beside Barry, her arms folded. She tried giving off an indifferent vibe but Barry knew the woman was proud of her work and the fact he and everyone else had agreed that the place was great made her ecstatic. "You and Cisco, actually."

"We just put out your vision. This was all _you_ ," Barry pointed at her. "And Belén is going to _love_ this place! I'm actually a little scared I'll never get her of here."

Shivhan then smirked. "Careful, Allen. I might steal your girl." Barry playfully rolled his eyes but then paused to consider the idea. Shivhan laughed and turned away, heading towards the threshold. "I told Cisco that we just need to watch out for the temperature in the room. Can't have it too cold like the other rooms. But other than that, I think it's all done."

"Good that you've finished your Christmas shopping then," Barry turned as well and went after her. "It's almost Christmas Eve and I still have no present for Belén."

Shivhan looked back with another smirk. "Hm, maybe I might actually steal Belén, then."

"I'm serious!"

"What do you want me to do about it? I just met you. I don't know what she likes. Only reason I could make this up-" Shivhan gestured to the room, "-is because I knew Belén needed one after seeing no other room for her here. So shouldn't you be having this conversation with say, Cisco? Or Caitlin? Or that adoptive sister of yours?"

Barry tilted his head at her, giving her the same look others had been doing. Shivhan had come to name that look as the 'why do we let you hang out with us?' look. It was kind of funny, actually. "I'm going to go," the speedster said after a moment.

Shivhan laughed. "Hurry up! Clock's ticking for that present!"

Barry wanted to argue that it wasn't...but it really was...

~ 0 ~

"I love when it's your turn to make dinner," Belén laughed when Barry set down a plate of lasagna on her kitchen table. "Cos, you know, you cheat and have Iris do it for you. She's such a good cook."

"How do you know I didn't do this?" Barry pretended to be deeply offended she was doubting his cooking skills.

"You can do breakfast but dinners just are not your stuff," Belén shrugged and sat down. She reached for the spoon to serve herself when someone knocked on her door.

"I'll get it," Barry said so she wouldn't have to get up. "Did you expect anyone today?"

"Um, no...not that I remember…" Belén said dismissively. Iris' casserole was filling the air and boy, oh, boy did it smell good.

"Delivery for Miss Palayta," a young blonde teenager stood on the other side holding a scarlet red gown covered with a protective plastic bag.

"Uh…" Barry stepped back and glanced at Belén. "Were you expecting the cleaner's?"

"Oh!" Belén exclaimed, dropping her fork. "Mark and Selena's wedding!" she came running up to the two men and snatched the dress from the teenager.

"Sign please?"

Belén, unfortunately, had already rushed off to go see the dress so Barry had to sign off. Belén was unzipping the plastic bag by the time Barry joined her in the living room.

"So...you've got a party?" he crossed his arms.

"Selena's and Mark's wedding, remember? I'm a bridesmaid! Oh look at the dress it's so pretty!" Belén gushed over her gown while her fingers worked to gently pull it out from its bag.

Barry began to smile as he watched her go back and forth in her rambles over what she would pair it with and what hairstyles and whatnot. It was nice to see some honest, pure happiness in the midst of their problems.

Belén pressed the dress to her body and turned to Barry. "What do you think? And be honest."

"I think...the Flash pales in comparison to your scarlet."

A laughter filled the entire room, and probably the entire floor. Belén dropped the dress on the couch and rushed to Barry, encasing him in a hug.

"I love you!" she planted a kiss on him. "With everything that's been happening I forgot about the wedding. You _are_ coming with me, right?"

"I'll have to think about it…" Barry said, pretending to be thinking about it right then. "I mean...I think I may have to…"

"Barry," Belén frowned.

"Of course I will," Barry chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Yes," Belén gave him a short kiss then turned for the kitchen. Barry walked behind her, with his arms wrapped around her. "Oh, it'll be fun, you know. We can dance together. Oh, you can meet my dancing team. And Selena says her cake is going to be super good."

"Sounds great. It can be a glimpse into our future."

Belén stopped and immediately Barry stopped too, figuring he probably shouldn't have said those words. "Do you mean...like...for our own wedding…?" Belén dared to ask, tilting her head up. "You think about that stuff?"

Barry's face went completely red. Sure he had once said that he thought about a future with Belén but there was a difference between that and thinking about _marriage_. "I-I mean...I d-d-on't think...a-all th-the time, just...just the...the, um…"

Belén laughed and turned around, draping her arms over his shoulders. "That is so sweet to hear," she cooed, somewhat letting Barry relaxing. "I think about it too sometimes."

"Really?"

"Mhm," Belén nodded her head. "I just...I wasn't sure if you did too."

"The mind wanders sometimes…a lot...sometimes…" Barry admitted.

"You are so sweet, I love you! Does that mean you promise you'll be with me forever and ever?" Belén got on her toes to press her forehead against his. "And I do mean forever, you know."

With a smile, Barry nodded too. "I promise."

Belén obviously wasn't thinking as serious but it was still a sweet moment. She kissed him on the lips then returned to the kitchen to finally start their dinner. Barry stared hard at her from his spot, his mind 'wandering' again...only this time it wandered to a brand new idea he hadn't yet thought of yet.

A present.

 _Finally_ , he told himself and happily went into the kitchen.

~ 0 ~

The next day was Christmas Eve which meant anyone who hadn't yet bought presents was frantically fighting through crowds at the mall. At least, that's what Belén thought as she looked at her finished project meant to be Barry's present. She'd worked on it for days now, and because she had worked through the morning she'd finally finished that day. She was so excited for him to see it! Caitlin's suggestion to hand-make a present turned out to be such a good idea!

After taking a shower (to get rid of glue in her hair) she came into her room to get dressed. She had gotten Patty to agree to a small get together at Jitters since the woman was refusing to come to the Wests' Christmas party. Picking up Patty's present bag, she left the apartment and headed for the station.

Meanwhile, in STAR Labs, the rest of the group was waiting for news on Mardon and Jesse. The two finally made their presence known when Cisco's alarm system went off.

"What is it?" Barry rushed over to the desk. "Is it Mardon?"

Cisco checked the computer just to be sure. "That's definitely him. Atmospheric pressure just dropped 200 hectopascals."

"Where?"

"Central City Square."

A light gasp came from Caitlin. "The tree lighting ceremony."

Barry's eyes widened with panic. "There's thousands of people there." He sped off for his suit and took the weather 'wand' with him.

"So am I just not going to help, then?" Shivhan was left asking by the desk.

"Maybe it's best if you don't," Caitlin said kindly. "You don't know his ways, after all."

Mardon was standing over the ledge of a building merely staring out the night city view. Despite feeling the familiar gust of air, he didn't turn away. "Oh, glad to see you. Maybe you can help me."

"Help get back into a jail cell?" Barry responded with dripping sarcasm. "It'll be my pleasure, Mark."

"No. No, see, I'm trying to decide if I should kill everybody down there with a deadly hail storm, or... little trickier, with acid rain, what do you think?"

"Ah, let me think, um…" Barry stepped forwards, "How about neither? You see this wand here?" he waved said wand in the air. Mardon smirked and did the unthinkable. He turned to face Barry and held his arms on either side of him...before letting himself falling over the ledge. Barry quickly sped to the edge and found Mardon literally hovering in the air and slowly getting away. "Um...guys? He's _flying_?"

"He can fly?" he could almost hear Caitlin's frown. "Since when can he fly?"

Cisco had the logical response. "Well, he's using his powers to alter the air pressure around him to create pockets of updraft that can…"

"No, he can fly," Harry interrupted.

"Barry, get him!" exclaimed Jay.

Barry forced himself to get over his stupor and remember that Mardon needed to be caught quick. "Yeah!" he sped down the building and went after Mardon, intedning on bringing him down at all costs.

~ 0 ~

When Belén arrived at the station, she was nearly crashed into three times by different cops before she saw Patty.

"What is going on?" Belén set Patty's present on her desk. The blonde woman was crazily going through her computer to look up to her visitor. "Patty? I had to literally protect myself from the running cops. What's happening?"

"Mardon showed up," Patty responded through gritted teeth. Belén froze on her spot. "I'm trying to locate their precise location-"

"Their?"

"Well, I imagine if Mardon is around then the Flash will be too, but considering they can both move rather fast...I need to predict where they're going to stop."

Belén looked around the room and saw her mother coming out of Singh's office with that worrisome face. "Maybe you should leave this, Patty. Others can handle it, I'm sure."

Patty snorted. "I'm sorry Belén. I think our dinner is going to be cancelled."

"But-" Belén's phone decided to start ringing at that moment. "Give me a second," she turned away to take the call. "Hello?"

"Bells!" Cisco's voice rang in her ear. "Hi, listen, don't panic-"

"Unlikely," Belén said quietly so that Patty wouldn't overhear. Although the woman was so focused on her computer she probably already forgot Belén was there.

"-but the wand didn't quite work on Mardon."

"Yeah, see, I'd be panicking but I'm in public...and at the station!"

"Right, so, um, listen...Jesse put in bombs in a random selection of kids from the public Santa job a couple days ago and unless we find them Barry is probably going to be beaten like a pulp."

"Wait, what-"

"I was thinking maybe this is the time to use some of your Azalea powers to maybe help out while we try to find the bombs-"

"No, Cisco, shut up for a minute!" Belén made a hand gesture as if Cisco would see it. "Did you say a bomb in a present?"

"Yeah. There's about a hundred in the city wrapped in green-"

"Holy…" Belén turned to her mother. "Just give me a second, okay? Don't hang up!" Without waiting to hear Cisco's answer, she ran for her mother at her desk. "Mom!"

Veronica flinched with the sudden visit. "Belén-"

"Listen! That little present Axel got from Santa a couple days ago...what color was its wrapping?"

"Excuse me?" Veronica blinked lazily. "What?"

"Mom, please!" Belén tried her best to remain polite. "Barry's life is on the line so just listen and answer my question! The present thing Axel got...was it green!?"

Veronica still gave her daughter a crazed look but, seeing Belén's utter concern, she gave it a real thought before answering. "Well...I think it was. Yes. Why?"

"Hold that thought!" Belén then raised a finger to keep her mother quiet while she tended back to the waiting Cisco. "Okay, Cisco, listen to me carefully! Axel got one of those bomb present things and right now it's in my childhood house. Get it from there!" she covered the phone and asked her mother, "Axel is with Mrs. Andrews right?"

"Yes, but I don't-" Veronica tried to voice her confusion but Belén put her on hold again.

"Cisco! Get in by all means! Got it!?"

"Got it!" Cisco dutifully responded and hung up.

"Okay," Belén took a moment to breathe after hanging up herself. When she opened her eyes, she found an expectant Veronica in front of her, arms crossed and everything.

"Annah-Belén would you like to explain now or after I yell?"

"Mom, please, not the time, okay? Barry went out to fight that Mardon guy and they're basically going to kill him if Cisco can't deactivate the bombs in the 100 presents James Jesse handed out to kids as Santa! One of those kids being my nephew and your grandson!"

"See, this is why I don't want you to be the Azalea anymore!"

Belén groaned. "Are you seriously picking _this_ moment to argue again?"

"I'm not arguing. I'm simply showing you a live example! You can't be the Azalea when things are like this!"

"Forget it, I'm going to help Barry," Belén turned to leave. "I'm just going to say goodbye to Patty and - where'd she go?"

Patty was no longer at her desk.

"Belén, you are not going anywhere!" Veronica came after her. "If you had any common sense you'd go home! Or at the very least you'd go to Mrs. Andrew and Axel!"

Belén couldn't listen to her mother at the moment as she hurried to Patty's desk. She checked the computer's last activity and saw Patty had more or less discovered the location Mardon would probably be waiting at. "She is going to get herself killed," she mumbled and started to leave for real.

"Belén! Are you listening to me!?" Veronica went after her again.

"Yes! I am!" Belén turned around suddenly. "I have been listening to each of your arguments and entertaining them! Just give it up already! I'm not stopping, okay? Nothing you say is ever going to change my mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go save my boyfriend's life and maybe my friend's too."

But just as Belén was turning to leave again, Veronica reached out for her arm. "You are not going there! It's too dangerous! Leave the job to me and the station!"

"I'm going there whether you want me or not," Belén pulled her arm from her mother's hold. "If you're that scared, then give me a lift."

"What?"

"Half the station's gone anyways. Look, Mom, with all due respect, I love you but you don't make my decisions anymore. I am going and that is that."

Veronica swallowed hard and stared long and hard at her daughter.

~ 0 ~

Cisco, Harry and Jay drove all the way to Belén's childhood home without actually stopping. Ignoring all the mad honks their way from other cars, they parked - all wrong - and while Harry and Jay started unloading, Cisco hurried towards the house.

"Cisco?" a child's voice stopped him midway.

Axel had been playing outside in their neighbor's front yard, with Mrs. Andrews overwatching from the porch. "Why are you going into my house?"

"Uuh…" Cisco ran a hand through his hair.

"Cisco! We're wasting time!" Harry snapped.

"Right!" Cisco them rushed to the door. "Uuh, I don't have a key!"

"Break the window!"

"I have the key! I have they key!" Axel shouted excitedly. With much huff and puff from Mrs. Andrews, who had has no idea why three men were trying to break into the house, the old woman and the boy crossed the street.

"He's not a stranger, Mrs. Andrews," Axel was explaining. "That's Cisco, that's Dr. Wells, and that's Jay. They're auntie Belén's friends."

"Who want to break into the house," Mrs. Andrews finished.

"Not break in," Cisco smiled widely, "Belén told us we could get in. It's an emergency, please."

"I'll just break the window," Harry said and started for the house.

"Alright!" Mrs. Andrews exclaimed and quickly handed the keys to Cisco. "But don't think just because I'm old I won't remember your faces if the police comes questioning me."

"Mrs. Andrews we've already met before," Cisco felt the need to remind the woman. "Countless times."

Mrs. Andrews paused and really looked at Cisco's face. "All you young people look the same," she mumbled.

Cisco awkwardly smiled and let the woman continue talking about their similarities, going as far as comparing him with her grandson. Meanwhile, Axel followed Cisco right in.

"Why did Auntie Belén say you could come in?" he began asking the third degree (4 year old style) questions. "Grandma says no one can come in except her, Auntie Belén, and Mrs. Andrews. And why are you going to my presents?"

"Uuh...because Santa wanted me to look through them to, uh, make sure they're all there, yeah," Cisco wasn't sure if coming up with answers for a four year old was trickier or not than coming up woth scientific ones.

"Oh...but then why did you need the key? Didn't Santa give you a magic key?" Axel suddenly gasped. "Or did he let you borrow his sleigh!?"

"Oh geez," Cisco forgot what it was like being around kids. But he soon forgot about that trouble when his hands found the current, bomb trouble.

"Hey! That's the present Santa at the mall gave me!" Axel chased after Cisco who was taking away (in his eyes) his green present.

~0~

"Let me get this straight-" Veronica began as soon as she parked the car just by the lighting tree sqaure, "-James Jesse gave Axel a present that is actually a bomb and so now your friends are breaking into the house to get it ans hopefully- through some way - turn it into a magnet so that it'll attract the other 99 bombs in the city? All in the meanwhile Barry tries staying alive by _not_ fighting Mark Mardon James Jesse?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much," Belén knew how that sounded and was expecting some sort of another round of scolding.

"That's...amazing," Veronica, instead, said, sounding truly in awe. Belén did a double-take just to make sure she'd heard right. Realizing what she said, Veronica quickly explained. "I mean, what you have to do to save the people. Can Cisco do it?"

"I have full trust in him, Harry, and Jay," Belén said without a second thought.

A loud crackling made both women turn away from their conversation. They saw a blip of a thunder clap striking down, and while they couldn't see it completely, they were sure of who was the target.

Belén unfastened her seatbelt and was about to get out the car when her mother caught her arm.

"Belén, you can't go out there," Veronica softly said, her eyes full of nothing but fear. "If it's like you said, then you'll only end up getting hurt like Barry is right now. What's the point?"

"They don't know me, I have that upper hand. I can sneak in and maybe take away the control for the bombs…"

"And if that doesn't work, hm? What happens then?"

Belén hated she couldn't answer that.

"Or what if, like you said, you lose control? You haven't actually been out anymore."

"Mom…"

"Just think about it!" Veronica begged. "Think about this logically - like a cop would - and tell me you think this is a gold idea?"

Belén had always hated when her parents were right. How was she supposed to argue against her mother if she decided to go and be right!?

~0~

"Why is my present in there?" Axel stood just beside Cisco who was working the machine that would hopefully get rid of the bombs. Neither Axel nor Mrs. Andrews had left the scene.

"It's a bomb, we told you," Harry bluntly said, once again making Cisco question how the hell that man had a daughter with those parenting skills.

"Oi, Grinch, cool it with the answers. He's still a four year old who believes in Santa," Cisco scolded.

"You don't believe in Santa!?" there was an alarm on Axel's face, like that of blasphemy.

"Way to go, Cisco," Jay gave him a pat on the back.

Axel would have continued to question Cisco over his beliefs had it not been for a streak of presents flying in the air above them.

"What in heavens is that?" Mrs. Andrews blinked and rubbed her eyes. Things came more as a shock when a breech opened up.

"It's Santa!"

"It's not Santa-" Harry had begun to say when Cisco shushed him.

"Look, Mrs. Andrews! It's Santa!"

~0~

There was a noise in the sky that crippled like thunder.

"That has to be them!" Belén figured Cisco's plan was on the move. "Maybe it'll be safe now…"

But just as soon as she said those words, there was a strong force of wind that they took notice of by the trees swishing more.

"That's Barry!" Belén almost laughed. The fear was gone and replaced by a heavy measure of peace. "Cisco's plan must have worked!"

"Which means we can arrest them now," Veronica pulled her radio to communicate the news and location.

But soon as she did, another police car swooped by. Belén leaned forwards and caught a blonde cop coming out of the car. "Oh no, that's Patty!" and the woman was carrying a large metal gun in her arms which signaled nothing good.

"What is she doing!?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"A mistake! That's what!" this time Belén didn't stop to chat and think. She flung open the passenger door and got out.

"Belén! No!" Veronica called after her but did no good.

Belén ran towards the scene and flinched in the process when Patty shot the gun at _Barry_. The metahuman had been grounded by a contraption around his leg. Its metals were binding him to the ground. "PATTY! Stop!"

Patty was shaking in her spot but she pulled out her regular gun nonetheless. "Belén, get out of here. This is a cop's job."

"No, this isn't," Belén didn't dare take a closer step. She could see Barry's concerned looks for both her and Patty. Neither wanted Patty to make the biggest mistake of her life. "This is a revenge plot - I know one when I see one."

"He killed my father for a couple hundred dollars," Patty gritted her teeth, her hand tightening on the gun.

"I know…" Belén sighed, letting her head hang for a moment.

"What was so important that my father had to lose his life!?" Patty practically shouted at Mardon on the ground.

"Mardon will get what he deserves," Barry tried to get through to her as well, but it seemed Patty was more determined than ever.

"He deserves to die!"

"Yes! Probably so, but not like this," Belén shook her head.

"You don't have it in you, pretty lady," Mardon flashed a sinister, teasing smirk Patty's way that just made the woman's blood boil.

"I've been asking myself that for the last four years, and now I know," Patty quipped.

"Patty, please just listen!" Belén begged. "You can't do it! This isn't you!"

"You don't understand..." Patty had begun in that same snappish voice she'd used earlier at Jitters.

"Yes, I do! I _so_ do!" Belén frantically waved her hands. "Believe me, I am no stranger to that. Did you ever hear how my Dad died?"

Barry saw Patty's eyes flicker for a brief moment. "Bells…" he nodded Belén to keep going. If anyone was going to get through to Patty, it would be Belén.

"Do you remember that yellow speedster that was terrorizing the city last year?"

"Dr. Wells, yeah," Patty nodded, swallowing hard.

"He broke into Mercury Labs last year and he killed my Dad because he was in the way of some science gadget," Belén's eyes were glossy with the memory. "My Dad was just doing his job and some criminal decided my Dad wouldn't get to survive. So yes, Patty, I _do_ understand your feelings. You feel like it's up to you to get that man and make him pay. And that's fine...but not this way. He doesn't get to take away more from you. Because if you pull that trigger, your life ends here too. You'll go to prison and everything and everyone you could have had in your life will be taken from you. _Again_. Mardon can't take anything else from you unless you let him."

Patty's gaze lowered to the ground but her trembling hands remained at aim.

Belén took a cautious step forwards. "When my Dad died, I nearly entered this identity crisis...I felt like nothing mattered so I...kind of let my life just pass me by...until someone told me that my Dad would have never wanted that. I thought he was annoying at the moment-" she crossed glances with Barry for a moment, both smiling at each other, "-but then I realized he was right. Our Dads, Patty, loved us. I didn't have to meet yours to know that. And I didn't have to meet him to know that he would never want you to do this. Please?"

Patty sucked in a breath and gave Mardon a hard look. The man was too weak to move thanks to Barry, but still upheld his teasing smirk, practically begging her to do it.

"Not over you," she muttered and kicked him so that he fell on his stomach. She put away her gun and took out handcuffs instead. "Mark Mardon, you're under arrest."

Belén released a hearty sigh and a great big smile started spreading across her face. She then rushed over to Barry, hoping to get him out of his own trouble.

"That was beautiful," James Jesse's heartfelt sob from the pole Barry had tied him to.

"When we're done here can you let me punch one of them just to feel like a part of this?" Belén asked Barry while secretly releasing some of her vines from her palms. She was hoping to pull the metal tendrils from the root.

"You _are_ kidding me right?" Barry laughed.

Belén just smiled to herself.

~ 0 ~

Christmas at the Wests' wasn't complete until someone broke out the Grandma Esther's eggnog. The smell of whiskey and eggnog filled the room as Joe and Cisco came out of the kitchen passing out mugs.

"What a beautiful tree," Belén remarked when Iris put the last decorative figure on the tree - it was golden lightning bolt.

"Yeah, I did good," Iris proudly said, crossing her arms and looking at her masterpiece.

Belén tilted her head and stared at the tree beside Iris. "I didn't even get to put up a tree of my own in my place. Everything's been so hectic, and…" she sighed, "...last Christmas was a hard one so maybe that had something to do with it." Iris put a comforting hand on Belén's arm. "My Dad had this thing where he put this old picture of our family right on our fireplace mantle, above the stockings.. It was really _old_ \- I mean, I think I was seven?" Iris laughed. "But it reminded us that even if Mom and Dad were divorced and Maritza was married...we were still one family...however dysfunctional we were."

"Eggnog?" Cisco stopped by with two mugs for them.

"Don't mind if I do," Iris happily took hers and went by to take a seat on the couch with her father.

"No Harry?" Belén curiously wondered and looked around the room.

"No, Barry couldn't get him to come," Cisco gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"Speaking of, where _is_ Ba-"

But Cisco had seen Caitlin and Jay kissing under the mistletoe across them and just _had_ to remark. "Finally!" he sarcastically called to them.

Belén promptly smacked him upside the head for that. "Leave Caitlin alone or next time you get a date I'll go full on annoying little sister."

"Don't you dare," Cisco shot her a look.

Raising her eggnog mug to her lips, Belén flashed a smirk. "I've got practice," she just warned.

Cisco decided it was better to end it right there and then. He noticed Iris opening the door to let Shivhan in, though the latter looked pretty out of place as she took small steps into the house.

"I, um, I took your invitation," Shivhan, uncharacteristically sheepish, told Iris. Iris laughed and reiterated the invitation still stood.

"Shivhan," Belén was quick to go and greet, though her big hug was startling for Shivhan. "You look great, by the way!"

"Thanks," Shivhan tucked some hair behind her ear. She was dressed in a high-waisted, black jeans with a long sleeved purple, blue and yellow striped shirt tucked into the jeans. Her high-heeled boots made her even more tall than she already was. "My, uh, my parents do Christmas until like 9 and then it'd bedtime so...I thought why not come here?"

Belén chuckled. "You made the right call. Listen, I really want to thank you for that greenhouse. It is insanely _beautiful_! I love it!"

Shivan beamed. "Really?"

"Oh yeah! Barry was right in being scared that I might never want to leave it!"

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."

"Ditto," Belén nodded. "So when do we start training?"

"December 27, that's the day I won't be hungover," Shivhan made a gesture to the wine bottles she saw sitting on the dining table. Belén laughed as the woman went to get herself a glass.

Hearing someone knocking on the door, Iris went to answer again and this time Patty stood on the other side. Patty had decided to come after all despite refusing to in the beginning. The woman came in wearing a red Christmas sweater and holding a bottle of wine.

"Patty!" Belén beamed. Patty walked further into the room and tried avoiding all the attention. "I'm so glad you came!"

"I think I deserved to," Patty admitted with a nervous laugh. "Did that come out mean? I so didn't mean that to come out mean - or disrespectful! Oh my - did that sound disrespectful?"

"My God there's two of them," Iris' eyes comically widened at Patty and Belén, though she quickly went somewhere else before Belén would hurt her for the comment.

"I'm really glad you did come, though," Belén said afterwards. "You deserve a nice Christmas night."

"Thank you," Patty said then looked at her a bit longer, "Really, thank you."

Understanding the meaning, Belén nodded her head. "I've been there - actually, I know someone else who's been there too. He helped me, and I'm glad I could help someone too." Patty nodded, sheepishly smiling.

The front door suddenly re-opened and just when Belén was about to ask Barry where he'd been (because honestly how could he be late to a Christmas party in his own _house_!?) when Axel came bustling through holding a bag.

"Axel?" Belén raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Santa!" the four year old happily declared, and loudly so that everyone would know the news.

Belén barely had time to react - which was to laugh - when she saw her mother coming in. "...Mom…?"

Veronica seemed awkward but everyone else nonetheless greeted her like they had done with Patty. "Barry came by...asking us to come…"

"Did he now?" Belén shot her boyfriend a look for not telling her.

"Surprise?" went the metahuman in return.

"Get out, get out right now," Belén pointed him to the living room.

"Love you," Barry stopped by to kiss her cheek. "C'mon, Axel, let's give those presents to everyone!" he then helped the four year old with his bag.

"Everyone gets one...except for Cisco!"

"What - hey! How come?"

"Because you made my present go to another dimension!"

Everyone comically looked at Cisco.

"Wha...well…" Cisco huffed, "...so did he!" he pointed a finger at Jay.

While the two argued it out, Belén approached her mother. "So did Barry have to get on his knees to convince you to come…?" she asked truthfully.

"Um, no...he really only had to stop by," Veronica bit her lip. "I wanted to come but I didn't wanna show up after...everything…"

Belén nodded, understanding the feeling. Veronica seemed to want to say something but her mouth kept opening and closing so many times.

"I am so proud of you," finally emerged from her mouth. Belén's eyes widened. "I know...after everything that's probably not what you expected…"

"Yeah, kind of…" Belén tilted her head. "We just argued so much, that…"

"Well, I am. I am really proud of you. I didn't...I had never seen you so...determined for something...than I did yesterday night," veronica swallowed hard. "Seeing you out there...talking Patty Spivot down from making a huge mistake...that was amazing. You saved her."

Belén's face was getting warmer but mostly her eyes were tearing up. She had never seen her mother so affectionate and open with her. "Y-you...you think…?" her voice was like a child's.

Veronica nodded her head. "I can see why you want to be out there now. You're _good_ at it."

"Well, the Azalea has had her moments-"

"No, not that side. _This_ side-" Veronica gestured to her daughter, "-is the hero. I mean, the Azalea is just you with a mask-"

"Well not exactly. My skin sort of turns green and…" but Belén realized she was messing up her mother's warm message and instantly shut herself up, "...never mind."

Veronica chuckled. "The Azalea is just someone you created so that no one would figure out who you were. But Belén is the one striving to do amazing things like yesterday. It scares me half to death knowing you'll be in danger, but...it's like being a cop...with a perk. A green perk," she made a face at the oddity of her words.

Belén smiled and hugged her mother. "Oh you have no idea how much this means to me, Mom. Thank you!"

For the first time in a long, long time, mother and daughter shared a deep, long hug.

It wasn't until Axel came running over with a present in hand that the two women broke apart. "Auntie Belén, here's your present!"

"But it's not midnight…" Belén looked at the rest who were already beginning to open presents.

"Let the kid pass out presents!" came Cisco's voice. In the end, Axel had given him a present as well and he was itching to get it open.

Belén took the present from Axel and he rushed back to the living room to continue giving out more presents. "Open it," Veronica encouraged Belén as the two came to join the others by the couches.

"Not gonna deny a present," Belén joked and began to unwrap it. Underneath, she found a familiar photograph with a golden string at its top. She pulled the picture up and laughed. "It's Dad's old picture for the fireplace! Oh my God I forgot how awful we all looked!"

"Let me see it," Barry came over to take a better look. The photograph was old but because it was laminated it lasted years and years. "Who's that one?" he pointed at a brunette little girl with a bowl over her head that had purple ribbons sticking out from it. "You or Maritza?"

"...Maritza...obviously," Belén cleared her throat and looked away.

Veronica laughed. "Oh I think not. This one-" she pointed to the second brunette girl sitting on the ground beside the only boy, "-is Maritza. Belén had a thing for climbing her Dad's back."

"And the bowl?" Barry was struggling not to laugh.

"I was a hunter…" Belén answered and rolled her eyes, "...with magic. I used to make my hair purple, okay?"

"Oh I can't wait to use this on you," Barry finally broke into his laughter.

"I will show everyone that video of you doing karaoke!"

"Now why do I have to suffer?" came poor Caitlin's question.

"Merry Christmas, dear," Veronica gave Belén another hug.

"Thank you," Belén grumbled a response. "Laugh it up, Barry. You know I can make you pay."

"Alright, alright," Barry handed her the picture, or at least tried to because Iris had swooped in and taken it to get a look herself...with Cisco...and Caitlin...and so on. "Let me give you my present, yeah?"

"Not before I give you mine," Belén rushed over to the three and pulled out her present for him. "Now please, if you don't like it, lie and say you do then throw it away when I leave because I spent a lot of time on it."

Barry graciously accepted his present. He carefully unwrapped the present that had a sort of book shape to it. Underneath it all was a scrapbook of some sort. As he opened it and passed the pages, he found it was an album full of himself as a young boy with both his parents. Belén was anxious as he passed the pages without saying a word.

"Caitlin gave me the idea of maybe making something for you and I got to thinking that maybe you had a lot of albums of you when you lived here and maybe that the old one - with your mom and dad - may have been lost or just...not touched in a long time so I thought 'let's give him a redo album' and I thought it was a good idea but since you're not saying anything maybe it wasn't," Belén was almost purple in the face from her speedy ramble.

Barry looked at her with the biggest smile on his face. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. "Thank you for this."

"Yeah? I did good?" Belén beamed.

"Yes! I love it! It's...it means a lot," Barry truly didn't have words to describe how he felt for her at the moment. Thankfully, he was sure that his present for her would encompass all his feelings. He set his album on the couch chair beside them and went looking for his own present. In no time did he pull out a small box for her. "Don't be deceived by the size."

With a laugh, Belén took it from him. "Last year you gave me tickets. The box can so be deceiving."

"Open it," now it was Barry's turn to be anxious.

Belén chuckled and unwrapped the present to reveal a small, black box. She opened it up and gasped when she found a rose-gold ring sitting inside. Her eyes nearly popped from her head. "I…"

"Don't freak out!" Barry said first before she thought of it wrong. "It's a p-promise ring!"

"I know what it was, you idiot," Belén playfully hit him on the arm. "Doesn't make it less shocking." The ring was silver with rose-gold accents on either side of it, the largest stone framed with sparkling, smaller stones. Belén couldn't take her eyes off it. "Barry, this is incredibly beautiful…"

Barry stepped closer to her, taking her free hand into his. "We both think about a future together, and I...wanted that to be seen by everyone. I know it's a huge step and I would definitely understand if you feel uncomfortable because of its commitment but I _needed_ to give you this - at least to show you where I was. I love you Bells-" he raised her hand and kissed it, "-and I honestly believe you are going to be the last woman I will ever say those words to."

 _And swoon_ , Belén leaned forwards with a giggle escaping through her lips. "...maybe our future daughter?" she tested the waters of his confidence.

Barry's eyebrows raised in the moment he thought. "That would be a different sort of love, but I suppose in a sense she would be the on-"

Belén's heart fluttered with the thought. He _had_ thought about things like that. She laughed and encased him in a hug, soon planting a kiss on him.

"Woah, woah, woah, there is a _child_ present here!" Cisco's voice broke them apart. Both metahumans shot him a look but didn't let go of each other.

"You really do love to break up moments, huh?" Shivhan stopped beside him with a glass of wine in her hand.

Cisco rolled his eyes. "Not on purpose...most of the time." Shivhan shrugged and meant to leave when Cisco quietly called her name to stop her. "I want to say I'm sorry for digging into your past. It wasn't my intention to be nosy."

"You wanted to know who you brought into your team, I can respect that," Shivhan shrugged.

"Yeah but there's a difference between that and being plain...invasive. So, I _am_ sorry."

Shivhan could see his honesty and decided that she should put him out of his guilty misery. "I got my powers the night of the Particle Accelerator but I didn't know it then. I didn't realize it until they started manifesting on their own." Cisco nodded that he was following but he would let her say what she wanted first. "And when they did start to manifest...it wasn't always in a nice way." Shivhan visibly swallowed hard at the memories. "I, uh, I started to trap things...like-like I would touch a book and next thing I knew it was all covered in vines until I squeezed it into nothing. One time..." she involuntarily paused for a few seconds, the guilt beginning to settle over her shoulders again, "...I was doing a dissection in a class and I accidentally trapped a dead cat in my vines. It was cut into pieces. I had such a hard time hiding that from people." Shivhan bit her lip the more she continued to explain, and honestly Cisco was about to tell her it was alright if she wanted to stop. She looked so frail, so...unlike the tough girl she usually was. "You were right, I was about to graduate when I dropped out. I didn't drop out because I wanted to, I dropped out because I _needed_ to. I was becoming a danger to everyone around me. My girlfriend, she-she almost became one of my victims." She shook her head fervently, as if that would shake away the memory she was about to speak. "I was hugging her when I saw the vines creeping out of my fingernails...that's when I knew I had to stay away. I had to stay away from everyone that I cared about or else they might die."

"That's why you moved neighborhoods?" Cisco asked, keeping his voice as quiet as she had hers. Everyone else was in their own Christmas moments and if Shivhan wasn't going to share this with anyone else, he wouldn't say anything either.

Shivhan nodded. "Least if I accidentally killed someone, chances were they were criminals anyways."

"But you got better...you-you have your powers under control now..."

"Because I spent so much time practicing and training. But I separated myself from anyone I cared about until I knew for sure that I wouldn't hurt them."

"So then why don't you go back to school, then? Go back and finish your degree? And that girlfriend-"

"-oh, she's probably moved on. I made a pretty convincing breakup. And school? I don't know, I just..." Shivhan shrugged.

Cisco put a hand on her arm and offered her a friendly smile. "You don't have to give an explanation. Just...when you're ready, if you want to share this with anyone else, I'll be there."

"Yeah right," Shivhan sighed. "Belén wants me to train her. Can you imagine if I told her about this?"

"Believe me, she would understand," Cisco promised her on the spot. "Bells had her own trouble controlling her powers. In fact, you might connect better if you shared that with her."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But in the meantime, it's Christmas, so..." Cisco raised his glass to clink with hers. Shivhan smiled and rose her glass to his.

After a few minutes, there came yet another knock on the front door, but this time no one expected another guest.

"Maybe Harry changed his mind," Barry offered an idea while Iris and Joe went to go answer. He distractedly swayed Belén a little. He didn't want to let her go anytime soon and she wasn't complaining either.

It had not been Harry, nor Nina as Belén later thought to add.

Wally West had come to visit.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Okay I really loved writing this chapter! It had to be one of my favorites of this story!

 **For the reviews:**

 **ReidsLittleGenius213** : I laughed too hard at this xD. Yeah I thought it was about time too. Thanks so much!

 **Musical Bear** : Oh I know! I didn't even know about the Green until I started researching more of Poison Ivy! I thought it was a great thing to incorporate into this story since it makes perfect sense that Belén have a place to herself like Barry has the Speed Force. Yeah, from the very start of Belén's story I wanted to avoid unnecessary tension between women in this story so that's why I decided to completely omit the WestAllen arc and even the Barry/Patty arc too. At least for this story, it wasn't pertinent. Aaah, I always wondered if I was leaving too many clues about Datura being Belén's doppelganger or too little but I guess I got it right xD. It's funny that you would think that about Datura being like Savitar's counterpart for Belén considering her role in the next story. It'll blow your mind! No, Poison Ivy isn't Datura's wife. Datura has an established civilian life on Earth 2 before she became Datura that we'll learn more about in the upcoming chapters! And thanks so much! Hope you liked the new chapter!


	15. A Slow Race

**Author's Note: I realized that Chapter 12, the second part to 'Black Orchid' was never uploaded so I just did that now. Please go read chapter 12 as it brings closure to the 2-part arc!**

* * *

Barry, as usual, was running late for his date. To make it up, as he sped to the restaurant he nabbed some flowers (And left the proper amount of money due) and went faster.

"You're late!" Belén was going to scold when she saw the bunch of the Azaleas in Barry's arms. "Oh, are those for me?"

"No, they're for the hostess," Barry thought to respond, but his sarcasm couldn't have been chosen at the wronged time.

" _Excuse me_?" Belén crossed her arms.

"U-uh, I m-meant y-you! A-absolutely you!" Barry swooped down to kiss her.

Belén pulled away and laughed. "You're such an idiot. But you're _my_ idiot."

"Totally yours," Barry agreed, nodding his head fast. Belén giggled and leaned in to kiss him again when a strong force yanked her back. The Azaleas fell to the ground.

Zoom was holding her up almost like she was a rag doll. Barry stiffened but just as he was about to move, Zoom broke into a run. In a second Barry was after them.

Zoom was dangling Belén over a building's roof ledge. She was thrashing against his hold but it was doing nothing for her case. "Help!" she decided to then cry for.

"Flash, everything you have will be mine," Zoom promptly let go of Belén.

"NO!" Barry rushed over, but his speed had not been enough to save Belén.

Barry awoke with a fierce, terrified gasp from his nightmare. His eyes scanned the room and slowly he began to realize he was still in his bedroom, just him. Without a second thought, he seized his cellphone from the nightstand and dialed for Belén.

"...hello?" came her sleep-full, groggy voice. Barry knew he'd rudely interrupted his sleep but right now he just needed to make sure she was okay and out of Zoom's way.

"B-Bells, are you okay? Are you-"

"I'm tired…" her muffled words had a tinge of a child's tone. "It's…" she breathed in, "...3 a.m…"

Barry checked the time on his clock and made a face. It _was_ 3 a.m. "You're right, sorry. I was just…" but he couldn't tell her anything of what he saw. It would just scare her. "Sorry, Bells. Goodnight."

"Mhm...goodnight," and a second later Belén had hung up. Barry figured she wouldn't remember this in the morning.

With a sigh, Barry out down his phone and laid back down. His eyes were staring at the ceiling but his mind was somewhere else. Each night he had a different nightmare about the same concept. Zoom was threatening someone he cared for, and he couldn't save them. Last night it was Zoom killing Caitlin and Cisco, the day before had Iris, and before that it was Joe...now tonight's star was Belén. As much as Barry wanted to tell himself they were just nightmares, the feeling of constant terror wouldn't leave him. Zoom could come in at any moment and hurt anyone.

 _I_ _ **need**_ _to get faster_ , was the same thought that crossed his mind day and night.

~0~

With her eyes shut, Belén breathed in quietly and exhaled in the same manner. She sat cross-legged in one of the sandy areas of her greenhouse. Her hands rested over her legs in a zen manner.

"Just keep your mind clear," Shivhan walked in a circle around Belén. "All you need to think about it is the Green."

"How do I do that if I don't even know what it looks like?" Belén said without opening her eyes.

"Okay," Shivhan paused her waking in front of Belén. She squatted down to face the woman even though the latter couldn't see her. "The Green is a beautiful place, honestly. It's the only place that I can...feel truly peaceful. It's green - big shocker," - Belén smiled - "There's these tall trees that look like they go up and up, forever. There's beautiful flowers of all kinds. Representative of every botanical metahuman. It's almost like an enchanted forest. There's no noise. And by that, I mean there's no city noise. You just hear the leaves sway, the swish of gentle water. There's no cold there, there's no heat. It's perfect."

"Sounds perfect," Belén sighed and opened her eyes to reveal a saddened expression. "And I just can't get into it."

"We can keep trying-"

"-no, we've been at this for two hours. I think we're done for today," Belén started getting up from the ground. Shivhan had tried her hardest to help Belén finally get into the Green where she would be able to learn more about her powers, but Belén just wasn't feeling it. She literally could not access the place. She did everything Shivhan had instructed her to, but it seemed not even the Greenhouse Shivhan built in STAR Labs was enough to help Belén concentrate.

"Are you sure?" Shivhan straightened on her feet. The guilt on her face was clear as day.

"Don't worry, today's just not the day," Belén told her to ease the woman's guilt. "Maybe a break is good."

"I'm sorry if I'm not doing enough," Shivhan was the one to sigh now.

"No, you've done _more_ than enough," Belén almost laughed as she gestured to the room. "You built me a Greenhouse, okay? It's just...I have a lot of things on my mind and...it's hard clearing them away when they're gnawing at me."

"I'm sorry," Shivhan still felt the need to say. She wanted to help Belén take down that bitch Datura and the only way to do that was to get Belén to access the Green. "Oh!" she gasped suddenly. "I know what we can do - well, I'll do it but then I'll get back to you."

"What did you have in mind?" Belén watched the suddenly excited woman backtrack towards the door.

"I'm going to go to the Green and ask the others what I can do to make it easier for you. It'll be fine - I'll be back when I have the answer!"

"O...kay," Belén watched Shivhan hurry out of the room. It did sound like a good idea, to be honest. With any luck, it might bring something good to them.

After a couple minutes, Belén got herself together to leave the room only to bump into her mother.

"Oh, there you are!" Veronica exclaimed with a visible - quite big - smile on her face. "I asked Cisco and he said to go down a left and then another left and...this place is bigger than I thought."

Belén nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah. But you get used to it. You'll get used to it." She smiled softly. Ever since Christmas, she was finally getting on track with her mother. Veronica had been stopping by STAR Labs more frequently to be more informed on their metahuman business, and sometimes she just stopped by to see Belén when the latter wasn't at CC Pictures.

It was nice.

Belén had never really been able to say her mother was in her life, and much less that they were on good speaking terms. The whole thing was a novelty but she loved it. There was a new sense of support that only a mother could give.

"So what is this place?" Veronica began to look around the greenhouse more in depth. She hadn't yet seen the room but she'd heard talk from Belén and the others that it was great.

"It's the Greenhouse that Shivhan built for me," Belén turned to face the room. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Amazing," Veronica admitted. "It doesn't even feel like we're still inside STAR Labs." She raised her head to see the sun reflecting through the glass ceiling. "And Shivhan really built this place?"

"She's very good at it," Belén folded her arms. "I just added a few more furniture pieces but everything else was her."

"And what do you do here? I mean, besides plant things…"

Belén smiled while Veronica tried her best not to look like she was judging. It was reasonable that she didn't yet really understand how Belén's powers worked.

"You know how Barry has his own training room downstairs?"

"You mean that eery blue room with the cardboard cut outs?" Veronica shivered. It was a creepy room that she got into a fight with Cisco because she'd openly declared how weird it was that he kept cutouts of everyone.

Belén laughed and nodded her head. "Yeah. The idea is that this room is all mine. I can use it meditate, to relax and keep myself in-tune with my powers."

"How would you do that?" Veronica eyed the bookshelf lined with several books. "By reading?"

"Sometimes," Belén nodded again. "I'm not a scientist but I do want to know more about botany. That way I can understand my powers better. But see, my powers don't come from strength. I'm not like Barry who needs to push himself to run faster and thus have a better hold on his powers. I need to be relaxed, at peace, to conjure up my powers. It's so weird, but…"

"Weird, ha…" Veronica blurted in a low mumble while she gazed at a bush of bright pink Azaleas. When she caught herself she quickly looked at her daughter. "I just meant -"

"It's fine, Mom," Belén almost laughed again. She could tell Veronica was trying really hard and that was all Belén wanted. "It's more than weird. You should've seen me when this all started. But I'm better now, thanks to everyone here and...myself."

"I was talking to um, Caitlin, and she was telling me that you've been trying to access this...other world? That's why you were in here with Shivhan?"

"I'm trying to access the Green. It's supposed to be this place where all botanical metahumans can go to for training, for peace, to meet with others BUT but…" Belén shook her head, "I am having the hardest time getting there. Shivan's doing everything she can but it really is on _me_ to get there."

"Well take a break," Veronica suggested, not knowing that Belén had already suggested it earlier. "If you try too much at one thing, over and over, you'll never get good results."

"I know," Belén pushed her hair back. "Which is why I was leaving."

' _Belén,_ ' Cisco's voice called from the speaker above, ' _Come to cortex quick!'_

"You heard him," Belén led the her mother out of the greenhouse. She wondered what Cisco wanted since it'd been a pretty quiet day so far. They'd come into the cortex to find everyone already there, except Shivhan of course. "When did you get here?" Belén asked Barry as soon as she spotted him.

"A while back but I didn't want to interrupt yours and Shivhan's session," he opened his arms to hug her. He'd had to physically restrain himself from checking up on her in the Greenhouse (and maybe everywhere else) and that was only because Caitlin assured him that Belén was in there. With those recurring nightmares he had, it was impossible not to be afraid for her.

"It didn't work out again," Belén sighed. "Shivhan's going to be out for a couple days, probably. She's going to be in the Green herself trying to figure out how to get me in there."

"You'll get it," Barry placed a kiss on the top of her head. He then met Veronica's gaze and smiled. "Afternoon."

Veronica gave a nod. Everyone was being rally cautious around her out of fear that they would do something wrong and screw up Belén's new chance with her.

"Alright you guys," Cisco dramatically clapped his hands to get the group's attention. "I've been doing a lot of thinking on our Zoom problelm and I think I may have discovered a way to defeat him." He shooed Caitlin and Jay away from the computers in order to pull up a specific profile on the screen on the wall. "As some of you may well know, I've been deeply embroiled in a secret, one-sided battle with an invisible enemy."

Caitlin groaned and rolled her eyes. "No, not the Turtle again."

"You're still doing that one?" Belén raised an eyebrow, leaving Barry to flicker questionable gazes between her and Caitlin. He and Veronica were on the same page.

"What? What is the... or who is the Turtle?" he asked.

"It's Cisco's white whale," Caitlin slowly sighed. It'd been a while since Cisco mentioned the particular metahuman which led her to believe he finally dropped the entire thing.

"Half whale, half turtle?" Veronica made a face, and for a brief moment everyone could see a little of Belén in that.

"No," Cisco quickly shot down then sent a look to Caitlin. "Do you see what you're doing, Caitlin? Everybody's confused now."

"Get to it," Harry instructed, his face aggravated.

"I stumbled upon a few of these cases when we were looking for the Reverse Flash, robberies that were seemingly committed at high speed... people holding their beloved items one second. Those items were gone the next. Tell me what you see."

Everyone turned their attention to the screen that was showing them security feed of a store. Everyone seemed to be frozen in their spots while a one man walked at regular speed. He took off with an object on display like nothing.

"Did he stop time?" Veronica looked at her daughter. "Is that a power too? Stopping time?"

"We've yet to find one of those," Belén shrugged. "But I'm sure he or she is out there too."

"No, no, no, he's not stopping time," Cisco called to them to keep paying attention. "Look at the time code. It's still running."

"Yeah, okay. So if he's not stopping time, what is he doing?" Veronica challenged him.

"He's slowing down everything around him. And that is why we call him the Turtle."

" _You_ decided to call him the turtle," Belén corrected him.

"Why have you never mentioned this guy to me before?" Barry asked, sounding a little offended that everyone seemed to know about the Turtle but him.

"Oh, I don't know, I think we've just been a little distracted, you know, what with other evil metas and whatnot. Do I need to go on?" Cisco's sarcasm had an icy tinge to it, but Barry merely smiled and let him continue. "Okay, so if we can catch him, figure out how he uses his powers...maybe we can show Zoom what life is like in the slow lane."

"How would you even know where to find him?" asked Jay.

Barry took matters into his own hands and rushed for the computers. He did his speedy investigation - which left an awed Veronica - and soon came up with some details. "Well, the robberies in the videos all correspond with police reports that were dismissed as lost or missing items instead of thefts. The suspect's M.O. being... Items of immense personal value." He continued to do a little bit more of searching until he stopped, stared, and sped off with his suit.

Caitlin moved over to see what Barry had found. "Uh... oh, it appears that there's a press conference at CCPD, because the Vandervoort diamonds have just been recovered."

"Is it really a good idea to let him go like that?" Veronica quietly asked her daughter.

"Most of the time he doesn't give us a head's up," Belén sighed and joined her friends by the desk. "Could we pull up security feed to see what happens? I get the feeling watching a speedster go up against a man who can slow things down is going to be interesting."

Caitlin hummed in agreement and pulled up the security feed. There they saw Singh giving a press conference to a group of reporters. Beside him were a couple of men, one of which was holding a jewelry box with a necklace and a golden ring.

"We're going to want to do facial recognition," Cisco quickly took his seat beside Caitlin, ready to get to work.

Belén, Veronica, Jay and Harry all crowded behind the two to watch. In no time had Barry confronted the Turtle, but as it turned out even Barry was a little outmatched against the man. The Turtle had emitted some sort of greenish glow that slowed everyone down, including Barry for a bit, and made a clean getaway with a golden ring.

"And he strikes again," Cisco made a comical frown. "Genius of a power, I'll tell you."

"So what exactly are we intending on doing with this guy when we catch him?" Belén moved over to Cisco. Cisco opened his mouth to respond when Barry sped back in, completely disoriented from his little trip. "You're an idiot for going out there like that, by the way," Belén called to him.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Barry sarcastically retorted.

"Shouldn't have gone out like that," she repeated louder in case his ears had been affected by the Turtle. "So Cisco, how are we going to use this Turtle for our needs?"

"Well, his powers are crucial to defeat Zoom so we'd need to examine them...maybe find a way to…"

"Siphon them?" Belén finished for him, her voice suddenly low.

Cisco blinked and quickly looked at her, unsure of how to respond. "Well...it...I'm not sure if that's plausible, but...maybe? I don't know." He chuckled to himself suddenly. "Maybe if we could use Datura then we could-" but he never got to finish his idea because Belén hit him on the arm. "What?"

"Uh, Mom, didn't you say you had a meeting with Axel's teacher today?" she suddenly asked her mother. Cisco shared looks with Jay and Harry, all three making quick checks.

"Yes," Veronica's eyes widened. "Oh my God, what time is it?"

"Four o'clock," Belén answered fast.

"I'm going to be late!" Veronica gasped and started to leave. "I will see you later, alright? Thank you for showing me around. Bye!"

"Bye, Mom!" Belén waved then released a big breath afterwards. She realized she had Cisco, Jay and Harry still staring at her and frowned. "What?"

"Have you told your Mom _everything_?" Cisco raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"I...told her about Zoom...and...what he wants...and stuff…" Belén fiddled with her thumbs.

"Mm, so did we not include the crazy siphoner after you?"

Belén dropped her hands and walked away from the desk. "I...did not see the point in that detail. It would only worry her. She just thinks that Datura is part of Zoom's crew who's only mission is to make our lives miserable."

"So you basically left out the part where she's hunting you down?" Harry said the words no one else wanted to say so boldly, but it's not like he cared.

"Well - I couldn't do it, alright!?" Belén defensively said. "How do you tell your mother that you have a psychotic siphoner coming after you? Is there a way?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't it be worse if she found out on her own terms?" Jay cleared his throat to ask the question. "You know Datura would love to do that, right?"

Belén brought a hand to her forehead. The peacefulness Shivhan was talking about earlier seemed much farther now. "I don't know guys, alright? I need to figure out the right way to tell her the truth but...I need a bit of time."

"I wouldn't waste time on that, then," Cisco warned. "You seem like you're finally getting to a good place with her."

"I know," Belén sighed. "That's what makes it harder. But I'll tell her, I promise."

Afterwards, when Caitlin cleared Barry of any lingering effects from the Turtle, they got things moving in hopes of capturing the metahuman once and for all.

"Yo. What was it like being in Turtle Time?" Cisco could not wait to ask, and it showed on his face.

"Yeah, no, it was weird. It was like waves of inertness... like all the energy was suddenly sucked out of my body, and then it would return."

"That's because that's exactly what was happening," Harry spoke up. He was scribbling down on a notepad what he was watching from the desk. "He has the ability to transfer all the surrounding kinetic energy into himself."

Jay caught on with the pieces. "Leaving everyone else in a temporary state of potential energy. That's right."

"So why could I still move?" Barry asked.

"Your speed-"

"Your speed allows you to change positions faster than anyone else," Harry interrupted Jay's explanation but Jay finished it in the end.

"So you can convert your stored potential energy back to kinetic energy."

"Excuse me, where are you going?" Cisco demanded when Harry made to leave the place.

"Trying to figure out how to use this against Zoom. You remember Zoom?" Harry made a face at them then left.

Cisco seemed to be on the verge of shouting, but instead he used his sarcasm to restrain himself from killing the man. "Cisco, please join me. We'll use your idea and take it to new scientific heights and save the world.' Yes, I'd love to!"

Caitlin had plopped herself down at the desk and looked at the computers. "Okay. Facial recognition software found us a match from the press conference footage. The Turtle's name is Russell Glosson. He was a small-time thief who stopped thieving after the particle accelerator explosion."

"All right, I'm gonna head to work... catch Joe up," Barry said and began to get his jacket. "Let me know if you find anything else." He stopped by Belén before going and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "I won't be by tonight, remember?"

Belén nodded, knowing he had agreed to be there for Iris and Joe as they had dinner for the first time with Wally. "That's fine. I have to figure out how to tell my Mom about Datura."

"Still?" Barry made the same face Cisco had earlier.

"Yeah, yeah," Belén shooed him off. Barry left with a laugh and missed the small curse she threw his way. She turned around and noticed Jay staring blankly at the profile of the Turtle. She nudged Caitlin in his direction.

"You okay?" Caitlin didn't deter from asking.

Jay glanced back at the two women and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, it's just, um…" he cleared his throat, "It's hard to... look at that and not think about how I can't help people anymore."

Belén exchanged a look with Caitlin, both smiling with ideas.

"I'm no genius - nor a scientist for that matter - but this is still another world with other technology," Belén made a shrugging manner of her shoulders. "Wouldn't it be possible to help you here?"

"You know what happened," Jay reminded them both.

"Yes, okay," Caitlin slowly rose from her chair. "Datura siphoned your speed, but...it's impossible not to leave a trace of those powers in your system, no matter what. It is plausible that through some technology we find that trace and give it a kickstart."

"Barry had that once," Belén remembered with a laugh. "Maybe the same can apply to you, Jay."

Still, Jay was not swayed. "Datura siphoned them. I count myself lucky to be alive considering the mess of corpses she's left behind from others. Any speed I had, she took it."

He then left the two in the room.

~ 0 ~

That night, Belén sat on her couch with the television and a blank stare. She truly was hoping to find the right way to tell her mother the last secret she had. Datura was something else - she wasn't Zoom, she wasn't as lethal, but she was still dangerous and she was still after her for some reason. Veronica needed to know that. In a long run, it could even protect her and Axel if she was prepared.

"But how, how, how do I tell you?" Belén closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the couch. At the same time, a gust of wind hit her and when she opened her eyes she found Barry had made his way in.

"Change of plans!" he excitedly threw his hands in the air.

Belén smiled. "Not that I regret giving you a key, but one of these days I _will_ be changing and you _will_ walk in on that." But of course after a second or so she realized that for a boyfriend that probably didn't sound as bad. "What are you doing here, anyways? I thought you were having dinner with the Wests."

"Uh, he didn't show," Barry made a face and walked over to sit beside her. "I mean, I get that it's all new for Wally but he didn't even call to let them know."

"Hm," Belén got to thinking. She hadn't truly met Wally properly except for the cordial greetings from Christmas and New Years, but the young man didn't seem to be rude or anything. "I mean, he lost his Mom and now he's probably feeling a little disoriented. He has a father to answer to now...and a big sister…" her eyes widened a bit, "...God knows I know how it feels to answer to your siblings."

Barry chuckled, however, and earned himself a mock glare.

"See this?" she pulled her sleeve up of her left arm and pointed to a small scar. "I stole some of Maritza's makeup one time when I was fourteen and she threw a fork - yes, Barry, a _fork_." Barry truly tried his best not to laugh. "And God knows I regret messing around with Rayan's chemistry set."

"You were a wonderful, annoying little sister weren't you?"

Belén tossed her hair back and nodded. "You forgot the cutest, but yes, I was."

Barry laughed with her and pulled her closer. He finally noticed what she was watching and had to make a remark. "Since when do you watch Jeopardy?"

"I don't. I wasn't even watching television actually, I was thinking…"

Barry noticed the change in her tone and looked down at her. "About…?"

With a sigh, Belén pulled away from him. "I've told my Mom...almost everything about our STAR Labs lives."

"Almost everything?"

Belén nodded. "I just haven't told her about Datura. I can't figure out the right way to do it."

Barry sighed and straightened himself up. "I'm sorry, but...I don't think there's a right way to tell someone...their daughter is being targeted by a crazy siphoner. God knows it wasn't easy finding out from my perspective." Belén smiled as he touched her cheek. "I can only imagine what it'll be like for her."

"Maybe I shouldn't tell her," Belén bit her lip, suddenly questioning herself. "I mean, why tell her if it'll only worry her?" but as she asked herself more questions, she realized she didn't want to hold it back. She didn't want to have another secret that could really drive her away from her mother. "Barry, I should tell her...shouldn't I?"

"I can't make that decision for you, Bells," Barry reached for her again, and she allowed herself to be taken into his arms. "But I can be there with you, if you'd like? Or just help you come up with things…?"

"No, please be there," Belén wasn't sure of much but she knew it would become a lot easier if he was there.

Barry held her tight, letting her rest her head on his chest. "Okay," he kissed her hair.

"And while we're on this topic...if there's anything you'd like to tell me, I'm all ears."

Confused, Barry looked down at her. "Wh-what?"

Belén raised her head to meet his gaze. "I talk to Iris, Barry, like all the time at work. She says you've been waking up screaming in the night. What kind of nightmares are you having for that to happen?"

There was a sudden flash of his recent nightmare where he had been forced to see Belén be killed. "N-nothing...just the usual traumatic nightmares."

"Are you sure? Because I-"

"Bells, I don't want to talk about it. Please."

Belén looked at him in the eyes and saw a terrible turmoil. But she couldn't very well force him to speak could she? It did not, however, mean she would let him get away with it. She'd get him to talk, just maybe not tonight. "Okay," she finally said back. She laid her head on his chest again and snuggled closer to him.

He reached for the television remote and changed the channel, hoping to God she wouldn't press further on the matter. Much like her, he didn't know the right way to tell her about his horrendous nightmares.

~0~

The next day was a good one. STAR Labs had managed to find a clue of where their metahuman could strike next. Cisco had pulled up a city event for them all to see. It appeared to be some elegant event...

"Central City Museum is hosting a special black tie event tonight showcasing 'The Crystal Ball.' It's a famous painting, apparently, recently recovered from Markovia."

"And they decided to name it the 'Crystal ball'?" Belén couldn't help make her remark.

Cisco rolled his eyes at her. "Anyways. The painting is on loan to the museum from the Silverberg family. Jacob Silverberg himself said, 'The painting's safe return means more to us than all the money in the world.' It's like they're begging Turtle to rob it."

Barry nodded his head and turned to them at the desk. "Okay, yes. This is a plan. So the Turtle will make his move, and we can be there waiting to take him down."

"How do you look in a tux?" Caitlin casually asked of Jay sitting beside her.

"He's 6'2", he's square-jawed, and he's jacked. I think he looks fine," it had been Belén who answered the question, much to Barry's shock. She turned around wearing a nice smile. "What?"

Barry merely raised his eyebrows at her.

"I'm 6'4"," Jay cleared his throat, a little amused.

"Please don't help," Barry sent him a sharp look before sarcastically saying, "I guess I'll just have to find another date then.

Belén looked him dead in the eye and made her response. "You do that and Zoom will be the least of your problems."

"Yikes," Cisco shivered. "That's just cold."

"What? I can be evil," Belén smirked.

As soon as she said those words, Harry, who'd been tinkering with some equations in the next room, dropped something on the floor. Everyone sent him concerned glances but he acted like nothing happened. He knew he had to get himself in control already. He had Datura and Zoom waiting for him on one side and those were two people he could _not_ defer. Jesse's life was on the line.

~0~

When night time rolled around, the team was ready to go through with their plan. While Cisco and Harry monitored from the STAR Labs van, Belén, Barry, Caitlin and Jay would mingle through the event. Since Joe was taking care of other business - relating to Wally - Veronica had been asked to help. She would be lingering in the background, hand on weapon in case the Turtle showed up.

"I can't believe you said that," Barry was in the middle of scolding Belén while they 'mingled'.

Belén rolled her eyes. "And I can't believe we're still on this topic." She picked up a champagne flute and took a small sip. "Are you that jealous?"

"I am _not_ jealous," Barry clarified, but it looked like the complete opposite to Belén. "I'm just a little...uncomfortable when you admire other men."

"I can scope out the menu but it doesn't mean I'm going to order."

Barry had heard a lot of things in his life bit _that_ was something that completely took him aback. "What!?"

A burst of laughter escaped through Belén's lips. "Maritza used to say that all the time. I can see other men but it doesn't mean I'm going to after them. It's like…" she thought for a moment, "...it's like you and...I don't know...Beyonce. Don't you think she's hot?"

"Well…" Barry deferred from answering.

"Barry, Beyonce is hot. Admit it. Now does that mean you'd go after her?"

"No, of course not," Barry took her hand which wore the promise ring he'd gifted her for Christmas.

"See? It's the same for me. Jay is good looking - any woman would fall for him - but I've already got my guy," Belén leaned forwards and kissed him. " _Ti amo mio idiota_ ," she said in fluent Italian.

Barry blinked and stared at her for a good minute, only making Belén laugh in the process. "Did you...did you speak Italian?"

"I _am_ Italian, Barry. You remember that, right?"

"I do but...you've never really spoken Italian."

"Never had the moment, I guess," she shrugged. "I do speak Spanish as well, you know. Piss me off and you'll hear some very colorful words in 3 languages."

"You just got insanely hotter right now," Barry stole a kiss from her but the look in his eyes indicated he wanted more than a kiss right now.

Belén blushed and looked out to the dance floor. "Why don't we go and dance?"

"Anything you want, just please keep talking to me in foreign languages," Barry said while Belén led them towards the dance floor.

They found a spot and started dancing along to the slow music.

"You look like a dream by the way," Barry eyed the dark purple, laced gown Belén chose to wear for the night.

Belén chuckled. "Smooth. But thank you. And you look very handsome." She'd joked about seeing Jay in a suit, but in her book Barry had won the most attractive award. Maybe she was biased? Or maybe she just really loved it. "The bow-tie was a nice touch too."

They swayed to the music, doing their best to keep eyes on the environment and not on each other. It was a difficult task, honestly. It'd been long since they had a proper date and of course they wanted to soak up any chance they got.

"We've got eyes on Turtle!" Cisco communicated to the four in the building.

"I see him," Belén stepped back from Barry and pointed him to the man across them, in a hallway, who was taking down a painting from the wall. Barry quickly sped away. "HEY!" Belén cupped her mouth to shout. "Leave that alone!"

Veronica came up from nowhere with her gun aimed at the man. "CCPD, freeze!"

The turtle turned around with a menacing face. From his spot he emitted his green slowing powers and made everyone freeze. Before Veronica knew it, her gun had been snatched from her hands. She and Belén turned around to find the Turtle standing at the base of a staircase, aiming at them with the same gun.

"For someone slow, he seems so fast," Veronica blinked rapidly. She blocked her daughter off from the man's aim.

Barry returned, as the Flash, and assessed the situation. "Oh, no. He is much slower," he promised Veronica.

"This is a trap?" the Turtle realized. "Well, I'm slow... not stupid." He changed aims and shot at the chandelier above Belén and her mother.

"Aw damn," Belén mumbled, knowing the chances to escape on their own was not an option with the Turtle's powers.

Barry tried speeding down the stairs to get her and Veronica out, but the Turtle did his best to slow him down. However slower, Barry succeeded in time and pushed the two women out of the way. The chandelier crashed down on the floor, and a bit over Barry. The lights went out and allowed the Turtle a clean getaway.

"Belén!?" Veronica first made sure her daughter was safe.

"I-I'm fine!" Belén scrambled up to her feet and hurried to Barry. "Caitlin!? Jay!?" she frantically called as she tried to pull Barry out from the chandelier. "Help!"

"I got it!" Jay came in first and, much easier, pulled Barry to his feet. The metahuman was a bit out of it but hopefully alright when Caitlin would check him over.

~ 0 ~

Barry was blinking fast as Caitlin passed a light through his eyes. There he was sitting on a stool in the cortex, letting Caitlin run the tests she wanted even though he knew he was fine. The cuts and bruises he'd gotten from the chandelier were already healing and some already gone. He let her since she had already checked Belén and Veronica up. Eventually, Caitlin drew back her light and gave the nod he was fine.

"Your pupils are normal. Your heart rate's a little low. But other than that, no concussive symptoms."

"What about Turtle?" Barry got up from his stool and rubbed his face.

"No sign of him," Cisco shook his head. "Or the painting. He, uh, must have gotten away with it in the chaos."

"He's not as stupid as we thought he was," Belén shrugged. "But we _are_ going to need to come up with a better plan."

"I think we should start by seeing if your speed still works," Cisco said to Barry. The metahuman frowned and, for show, sped out of the room and returned the next second with regular clothes on and left the suit in its display. "Okay, it works."

"We still have to find out how Turtle drained him of it," Harry pointed out and began to leave to start on it.

"I have to go see how my Mom is doing too," Belén announced too. It was then that Barry realized Veronica wasn't there anymore. "She's fine, if not a little shaken," Belén said for his sake. "First real encounter with a meta is...tough. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "Do you want a lift?"

"Always," Belén extended her arms forwards to be carried off. With a chuckle, Barry did just that.

~0~

Before anything, Belén had sent a text forewarning her mother she would be stopping by. She knew Veronica was left more than a little 'shaken' and didn't want Veronica to automatically shut it down like some crazy superior mom. Belén understood that there needed to be some venting done in order to truly fight metas. When she had changed into much more comfortable clothes, Belén went for her purse and jacket to finally go visit her mother. She checked the time on her phone and while it was a little later than she had planned - which she would fully blame for Barry for - she headed for the doorway.

"Next time just say no to 'one kiss'," she muttered under her breath and opened the door.

She truly regretted it.

Quickly, she tried pushing the door to close on the Turtle. "NO!" she was absolutely done with being attacked in her own apartment.

Unfortunately for her, the Turtle proved stronger and flung the door open, throwing Belén to the floor in the process.

"The hell do you want from me?" she scooted back. Her right hand flexed as it underwent the scaly green change.

"The thing most precious to the Flash…" the Turtle stepped towards her, "...you."

"Fight me, then," Belén gritted her teeth and thrust her scaly green hand forwards, sending a surprising green vine that smacked the Turtle against the open door. She quickly scrambled to her feet. _So much for secret identity_ , she thought.

"You're like us," the Turtle took delight in that. The malicious grin on his face sent a shiver down Belén's back. "Makes a lot more sense, I tell you that."

"Don't speak to me!" Belén pushed her hand down and at the same time a new vine did the same over the Turtle, only for him to use his own powers and leave the vine just a couple inches above his head. Belén was forced to watch as the man easily walked behind her and, picking up her own purse, he smacked it hard over her head, effectively knocking her out.

~0~

While everyone worked hard to find the Turtle, it was fairly easy for Harry to make a quick escape out into the night. This time he was surprised to find he had been beaten to the meeting. Datura was sitting lonesomely, one leg over the other, on the ledge of a shipping port with a cellphone in hand. She was scrolling but Harry couldn't see much of her face since her dark curls were over her shoulders. At a first glance the woman did not seem like Belén, and even when one got to know her - while knowing her doppelganger - she wasn't like Belén either.

"Funny, in this world your little experiment failed completely," she looked up with a dazzled face. "It's amazing how different our doppelgangers can be while still looking exactly alike."

"You look nothing like yours," Harry spat, but it Datura took that as a compliment.

"I know. You know I actually wish I could crack the code for inter-dimensional travel just to see what the rest of 'me's" look like." Datura tilted her head then, curiously thinking. "Or I could just siphon them. That sounds a lot easier."

"If you could do that then we wouldn't be here, would we?" the sour tone in Harry's voice momentarily caused a flash of yellow in Datura's eyes.

Harry shifted to one side, intently studying as much as possible until the effect went away. He then noticed Datura quickly trying to get herself back to her usual demeanor, like it never happened...but it did. And Harry wanted to know _why_ it did. What did it mean when her eyes did that thing? He still had yet to forget when the same thing happened after Datura and Poison Ivy made a visit to STAR Labs a while ago. The overlapping voices? Harry was sure that was not of her own voice.

"What I do or don't do is none of your business," Datura finally spoke again, and with her own voice. She was up on her feet, a deep scowl across her face. "But what _you_ do, is most certainly _my_ business. Zoom wants to know how your new mission is going."

Harry released a breath but nonetheless answered her. "I'm working on it but I'm...I haven't come up with a way to do it yet."

"Tick tock goes the clock," Datura innocently said.

"We're trying to solve a metahuman case-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what anyone in this world is up to!"

"You might want to know that this particular metahuman has the ability to _slow_ things down, including the Flash himself."

That piece of information certainly made Datura stop and think. "Really? Completely?"

"Well, the Flash is the Flash for a reason. This particular metahuman has the ability to transfer all the surrounding kinetic energy into himself."

A curling smile started spreading across Datura's face. Her eyes were lighting up with a new sense - was that happiness? For some reason, on this Belén the emotion didn't fit. "So…" Datura began walking while she thought out loud, "...because of Barry's speed, he can convert all his stored potential energy back into kinetic energy. Oh, if he was against Zoom I'd be impressed."

And yet, standing there and watching her, Harry swore she really _was_ impressed.

"So then-" Datura turned to Harry, snapping him out of his thoughts, "-I'm sure you know what to do with this metahuman." Harry stood there silently, unsure of where she was going with it. A dark ferocity took over Datura's face. "Kill him, Harrison. Find him, find out whatever made him tick, and turn that into our weapon against the Flash. Remember, it's the only way we can all win."

"Except the Flash…" Harry decided to remind. He was the first to admit that everyone - including Barry - on this world were heavily annoying. However, that did not mean that he wanted them to die. "And of course, Belén."

"Well, she never had a chance. What's she doing right now, anyways?"

Harry kept silent but as the seconds ticked by he knew it was the wrong choice. If he didn't tell her, she'd find another - probably hurtful - way of finding out on her own. "She's trying to get into the Green." And judging by the look on Datura's face, she knew all about that place.

"Hm, she won't get in," she said, but it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "Work fast, Wells. Tick, tock, goes the clock." She flashed him a wide smirk and turned to leave.

~ 0 ~

When Belén woke up, she found herself bound to a regular wooden chair. With a sigh, she looked around and concluded she was in some sort of library but it was overfilled with objects that just didn't belong.

"For a criminal, you didn't strike me much for the library sort of guy," she called once she spotted the Turtle a couple tables away. He was typing on a typewriter. "What kind of metahuman hits with a purse?"

Her sardonic joke made the Turtle glare up from his work. "You talk so bravely…" he meant that as a warning, but Belén snorted.

"Well, between you and me, this isn't the first time I've been kidnapped. It actually gets quite boring after the second or third time."

The Turtle studied her face and was a little peeved not to find any traces of fear. She smirked.

"What's the matter? Did I mess up your damsel in distress plot?"

"This was never about you. This is about hurting someone who values you."

Belén rolled her eyes and looked away. "Yeah, I know. You use me to get to the Flash. Been there, done that."

"So I _am_ right," the Turtle gained his confidence back. Belén turned her head his way, questioning him with a silent look. "I saw the way the Flash saved you and the older woman."

"Oh, congratulations, you spotted a hero saving women. I'd clap, but...you know…" Belén nodded to her bound wrists.

"It's a waste of time... saving people. They take everything for granted."

Belén stopped with her sarcasm to stare at the man. "Oh, so you take the things that matter most to them, then?"

"My wife Rosalyn took me for granted. She wanted to leave me... the thing I valued most."

"So that's what this is about? You're hurt because your wife left you?"

"I couldn't let that happen. So I made her mine," the Turtle got up and slowly walked for the wall with a red drape. He pulled the drape and revealed a dead woman sitting behind a glass case. "Forever."

Belén's eyes widened in horror. "Uh…"

The Turtle returned to the desk to pick up the paper he'd been writing on and walked over to the next drape-covered alcove. He pulled on it to reveal another glass case, an empty one, and turned to Belén. "I do hope I spelled your name right." He revealed her name was written on the slip of paper.

"Y-you...missed the accent over the 'e'..." she found her last ounce of sarcasm before her terror settled in.

~ 0 ~

As soon as they found out Belén had been taken by the Turtle, everyone in STAR Labs got straight to work. Even Veronica had returned to STAR Labs, and because it was later, she had to bring Axel in with her too. The four year old was yawning from his spot at the desk but was keenly watching his grandmother and Barry pacing back and forth.

"Grandma, is auntie Belén coming back yet?"

Veronica stopped pacing to look at her grandson. She of course hadn't told him why they were looking for Belén. For him, he just thought she went out like the grown ups do all the time. Veronica didn't know what to say, mostly because this was the first time she was in this sort of situation. Fortunately, Barry was already used to it (unfortunately).

"Your auntie just got a little lost," he stopped his pacing to explain to the boy.

Axel furrowed his brow and started getting up in the chair. Caitlin quickly reached to make sure he didn't fall off. "Can grown ups get lost too?"

"Sometimes," Barry went along with it for his sake. "But it's okay, because we're all looking for her right now."

Cisco hated to burst the child's bubble but he had to inform them how the search was currently going. "I'm not getting any leads on this guy. It's like he's totally fallen off the grid. You know, it... any of the stuff he's stolen, I can't find it."

"He keeps them," Harry's eyes widened when he realized. "He keeps them the way a serial killer collects trophies."

"He's stolen a lot of a stuff," Caitlin looked at them, concerned for their odds at the moment.

Fortunately, investigating was part of Veronica's abilities. "Which means he needs a lot of space to store it," she walked back to the desk, putting a hand over it. "That's where we start. See if he rented any storage spaces."

"I want to help find auntie," Axel leaned forwards on the desk and Caitlin decided it would just be safe if he sat on her lap than remaining standing on the chair.

"I got something," Cisco announced after a couple of minutes. "His ex-wife used to be an archivist for antiquities at the Naydel Library before it shut down, and it shut down three months after the accelerator exploded."

"That place is big enough to hold Turtle's stuff," Veronica immediately pointed. She meant to leave but Barry stopped her. Without having to say a word, she got the message. "I am not staying here and leaving my daughter out there."

"The Turtle's power will easily affect you. If we both go, he'll target you and it'll be even more difficult to make it out alive," Barry logically argued back. Veronica blinked then looked to the side, figuring he was more or less right.

"But Barry, we haven't even figured out how to neutralize the Turtle's power," Jay reminded.

"Well, I'm gonna have to power through it," Barry shrugged. Now he was most certainly not going to waste time while Belén was out there. He sped off with his suit and went to the instructed place. "All right, I'm outside the library."

"Barry, the only way to save Belén is if you grab her in between each of the Turtle's pulses," Cisco warned.

"You'll only have 2/10ths of a second to make your moves," Caitlin calculated closely.

"I got it," Barry sucked in a breath and got ready to do his thing.

~ 0 ~

Belén watched with disgust as the Turtle prepared a needle for her, apparently. "I don't know who you think you are but you are _not_ sticking that in _my_ blood vessels."

"I like your bravery, girl," the Turtle complimented. "But it would bode well if you felt just a little scared."

"I was for a minute until I remembered people are coming for me. In less than a second you'll find yourself locked away."

"Such faith…" the Turtle meant to jab the needle into her forearm but Belén concentrated and turned that arm into its scaly green form, causing the needle trouble. "What the…?" the Turtle glared at the woman.

"I'm no regular woman, remember?" she smirked.

Their sure-to-be disagreement was interrupted by Barry who was speeding his way through the room. The Turtle, no surprise, used his powers to slow him down. With ease, he walked up to Barry and punched him several times till the speedster went down. Barry shook his head to get back on track then quickly sped off for a redo.

"I guess he doesn't care about you as much as I thought," the Turtle went back to the table where his 'tools' were and picked up a silver knife. "And I doubt even your freaky scale skin is impenetrable to knives."

"Crap," Belén muttered under her breath. Her vines wrapped around her binds and quickly released her wrists. "Stay away from me you freak!" she jumped from her chair but the Turtle emitted his powers once more to keep her in place.

At the same time, Barry returned with a stronger speed. The Turtle turned around and forced more of his powers to surround them. This time, however, Barry 'powered through' and was able to throw the Turtle across the room. With a heavy breath, he turned for Belén on the floor.

"Man this is the first time I love the sonic boom," she found her humor and chuckled.

Barry didn't know whether to scold her for being so aloof of the danger she'd be in, or just hug her and smile that she was okay.

~ 0 ~

When the Turtle woke up, he was facing the STAR Labs group in the pipeline. He rushed to his feet and planted his hands on the clear wall, thinking nothing of it yet.

"Hey, Turtle," Barry greeted him like nothing. "So you want to know my new definition of irony? Now you... are our most prized possession. My girlfriend says 'hi', too."

The Turtle scowled and tried using his powers only to find the wall was containing it back. Barry shut the pipeline down and headed back for the cortex where Belén, her mother and Axel were.

Caitlin used the advantage she'd been presented and called for Jay to wait for her. "Jay?" the man in question stopped and turned. "I know," she said, seeing him in a significant manner. "Why didn't you tell me that you're sick?"

Jay wasn't the least bit surprised she'd caught onto him. "The champagne. You took my DNA off the glass."

Caitlin acknowledged her deed with a nod. "You know I lost my husband... how hard that was for me to move on. How could you let me get close to you knowing that soon I'd lose you too?"

"I just... I didn't expect... his. I didn't expect you."

"Then help me find a cure," Caitlin stepped closer to him.

"There is no cure, Caitlin," Jay sighed. "Datura siphoned them from me."

"Okay, then we find her, we capture her," Caitlin quickly devised.

Jay shook his head at her. "Datura was a right terror for my city. Next to Zoom, she's virtually unstoppable."

"Not if she's looking for Belén," Caitlin wagged a finger. "If she wants Belén then it has to be for something, which means...there might be a weakness she's trying to cover up. We can use that to our advantage. We find her, we analyze her powers, and maybe find a way to bring your powers back."

Jay looked long and hard at Caitlin and soon gave in. Happy, Caitlin hugged him, confident enough that they would be able to do this task together.

~ 0 ~

"Auntie Belén, you can't get lost anymore," Axel cautiously told his aunt after his grandmother announced they were going home. Belén was sitting on the bed in one of the side rooms, amusingly watching Axel give her instructions. "You have told hold hands, remember?" he simulated what he was talking about by holding his grandmother's hand. "Like this. Okay?"

"Don't worry, Axel," Barry walked in, hearing everything, "I'll hold your auntie's hand all the way home."

Belén shot him a sarcastic look, but Axel believed it straight away.

"Use the sonic boom if you need help," the young boy said.

"How you know about that…" Veronica gave Belén and Barry sharp stares, "...I don't think I want to know. Belén, are you sure you're okay?"

"Mom, you heard Caitlin, and my testimonies. I am just fine," Belén reassured.

"If you need anything…"

"I know," Belén smiled softly. "I know."

Veronica smiled back and looked at Barry next. "Please?"

"I'll take her home myself," the metahuman promised.

Much more reassured, Veronica left with Axel. Barry wasted no time and took ahold of Belén to bring her home like he'd promise. Belén could only yelp when she was dropped on her bed.

"A little head's up would've been nice!" she exclaimed afterwards.

Barry stood in front of her with a finger pointing directly at her. "Now you're going to bed and resting. I'll be back tomorrow morning to see how you are."

Belén raised an eyebrow, something different swirling in her eyes. "Okay." Barry leaned down to kiss her then started to leave...when Belén spoke again. "And don't worry, I'll leave my phone on in case you call in the middle of the night again."

Barry froze and slowly turned sideways, meeting her knowing face. "Wh-what…?"

"At first I thought I was just dreaming that you were calling me in the middle of the night but my phone does keep the calls just like any other phone. You called me...and I remember it now. You wanted to know if I was okay."

"Bells…" Barry tried playing it off as nothing more than a simple call, but Belén knew better by now.

"You called me to make sure I was okay," she reiterated. "Why? Why would you do that?" Barry deferred from answering, but not even that saved him. "It's because of those nightmares Iris told me about, huh? I assume one of them included me this time?"

Barry said nothing and didn't look at her.

"Barry, talk to me. You helped me tonight now let me do the same for you," Belén pleaded and held a hand out for him. With that soft smile on her face, it was impossible for Barry to walk out on her. He came back, dutifully, and sat down beside her. "What are those nightmares about that they're haunting you?"

"They're about Zoom," Barry found no point in hiding it anymore.

As soon as he said it, Belén felt stupid for not figuring it out on her own. Of course they would be about Zoom. The thing was a monster, and with a face.

"They're never the same...but...they're always about the same thing: someone dying."

"By Zoom?" Belén guessed.

With a sigh, Barry began to recount the different nightmares that involved each of his friends and family. He described how one moment everything was fine and he was just living his life like normal until Zoom showed up and murdered his friend. In one instant it had been about Caitlin drowning. In another Joe had been shot with a bullet. Belén tried to keep a straight face as she listened to how each of their loved ones suffered a terrible fate because of Zoom.

"And then there's you," Barry hesitated to say. "Rarely had dreams about you - I guess it was building up to you. You're there, looking pretty, and then the next minute Zoom's got you and I'm not fast enough to save you."

"And that's why you call," Belén whispered.

"Usually. Sometimes I sneak in just to make sure you're sleeping," Barry confessed. "And you are...each time."

"I can't tell you that it's all going to be okay, but...I can promise you that we are all going to fight against that monster," Belén took his hands in hers. "We're not damsels in distress and we're not Zoom's rag dolls. We're strong, Barry, and Zoom is going to feel so sorry when he finds out."

Barry squeezed their hands and tried to think like Belén. They _are_ strong. They would defeat Zoom if it was the last thing they did.

~0~

Late at night Harry waited by the breech located in the STAR Labs portal room. He knew that through this portal all Datura had to do was go through his version of STAR Labs. He kept wondering how Datura managed to open up all these portals without actually having Zoom do it nor the ability herself.

Soon enough, Datura popped in again.

"Got my message?" she flashed a smirk the moment she straightened up.

Harry took out the cellphone she had with her earlier and suspiciously looked at her. "How did you manage to connect through different worlds?"

"I forgot to mention, I'm a scientist. Don't even think about tracing that by the way," she hopped down the small steps from the portal. "My good friend made sure to help me with those deets. Well, update on that metahuman?"

"Captured and locked away," Harry put away the cellphone in his back pocket.

"But alive?"

"Yes."

"Then I assume you know what happens next," with that, Datura tossed him a silver device that resembles a gun only this one held a vial.

Harry caught it with a little rush and inspected it fast. "You want me to extract blood from him?"

"Sample tissues, brain tissues, whatever you want as long as it helps the cause. I know you're more than capable of building that but I wanted to save you the trouble," Datura motioned with her hands for him to get going.

"You want me to kill," Harry stated after taking a good examination of the device in his hands. It was strong by all means and he was sure that extracting _anything_ from the Turtle with it would mean his death.

"Is that a problem? I thought you wanted your daughter back."

"But to kill…"

"Oh for the love of…fine, let me take a leaf out of my doppleganger's book and help you a little more." Datura snatched the device from him and literally started walking out the hallway.

For the first time scared, Harry rushed to follow her. "You could get caught-"

"Then I suppose you'll make sure this gets erased from the security feed," Datura rolled her eyes. "Where is he?"

Harry silently moved up ahead. He knew this would come back to bite him but all that ran through his head was his daughter. If he allowed Datura to do what she wanted then he would be one step closer to getting Jesse back.

"High tech," Datura remarked as Harry pulled up the Turtle's pod cell. "Much more sophisticated than where Zoom keeps Jesse," she gave a tantalizing smile while Harry glared.

"Hey…" the Turtle was stirring awake from his sleep when he saw the two.

Datura walked forwards, past Harry, and into the pod. Without a single word she stuck the device into the Turtle's nostril. Harry flinched when the device snapped and blood splattered inside the vial. Datura then straightened up, kicked the Turtle's corpse off her boot and walked out.

She revealed glowing white eyes. "Easy, peasy," Her voice overlapped with another. "Zoom isn't so patient, you know? Time is precious so you better get to work." She patted his shoulder and walked out of the room.

Harry was simply terrified and yet awed by the woman. The doppelganger topic was always a fascinating one, but a theoretical one too. Never in his life did he think he would end up as a puppet for one of them.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This was always a fun episode I loved to watch! There's some good parts coming up now, promise!

 **P. S** : I have created a **tumblr** **account** dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I'll probably drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.

 **Halloween news** : I've been wanting to write a cute Halloween one-shot and I want to find good halloween costumes for Belén & Barry. Any ideas? I have one but I'm open to other suggestions! Leave one behind if you do!

 **For the review** :

 **Musical Bear** : Ah yes, I had to leave that Snart bit out. So sorry! Oh I knoooooow, I loved writing that scene with the promise ring. They're just too damn dorky sweet not to love xD. I actually **have** thought about season 5. I'm still writing season 4 right now but I've definitely weaved in the future child plot with the actress I'd envision them to look like. I definitely added a couple twists to it though, surprise! I'm glad I could finally write Veronica getting along with Belén - it's what they deserve! And yes, I believe it took Barry and Wally a while to get along so we'll see how that goes here! Thanks for writing!


	16. Slipping Away

It'd been admittedly a while since Belén visited her sister in jail. Every day had just brought on something new they needed to solve. And now it actually made Belén feel a little guilty she neglected to visit Maritza. How times changed. Months ago she didn't dream of visiting Maritza unless she absolutely needed to.

Maritza could say the same thing. She was so grateful that Belén had begun to visit her more often out of her own accord than out of business. She didn't deserve it, but Maritza felt lonely. She needed her family, her _son_. "I love the ring," she told Belén who immediately blushed. Maritza could see it even through the glass that kept them divided. "It's so you."

"Yeah," Belén gazed at her rose-gold promise ring sitting on her finger. "I love it. I never actually thought of having one but...when Barry gave it to me I just...I couldn't say 'no'. I didn't _want_ to say 'no'."

"Yeah, I get the feeling," Maritza wouldn't say it but she thought of her late husband. She was glad Belén was finally experiencing a love like that. "I'm glad that you and Barry are good, really good. And I'm also really happy that you and Mom are patching things up."

"I know, still can't believe that one," Belén laughed quietly. "I mean...for the first time in my life I feel like I _have_ a mom. She's there - she's _trying_ to be there. I'm grateful for that."

"The family's finally together," Maritza's smile was a sad one and they both knew why.

"Mar..."

"No, don't even say it," Maritza shook her head. "I don't deserve sympathy. I came to terms with that a long time ago. If I could turn back time, I would've never done what I did. Hell, I would give anything to never have gotten these powers."

"Your powers aren't bad, Maritza. It's how you use them," Belén gently said. She would be lying if she said she wasn't still a bit angry with Maritza for everything she did last year...but a part of her missed her sister. She'd finally healed a good part and now that everything was said and done, Maritza was in jail and away from them.

"I chose to use them terribly," Maritza sighed. "I really wish I could give them back, you know? Even if I used them in a good way...I just don't want them."

Belén wouldn't push that subject. She thoughts, perhaps, that years later Maritza would maybe reconsider her stance on her abilities. For now, Maritza was still in the grieving stage. It would probably be a long stage.

"So tell me about this Shivhan girl," Maritza said after a moment she used to straighten herself up.

"Black Orchid?" Belén smiled. "She's super cool - kind of like, the tough bad girl."

"Next to you?" there, Maritza had to genuinely laugh. "That oughta be a sight to see."

"She's pretty cool, trust me. She's been helping me access the Green - well, trying to anyways."

"Still no luck getting into that place, then?"

Belén shook her head. "No, and I'm getting impatient. I need to defeat Datura and Poison Ivy before they really hurt someone."

"I gotta say, Belén," Maritza bit her lower lip as she considered her next words, "This whole thing with those metas...you can't let it consume you."

"What?"

"You can't let it consume you, because that's how it starts." Maritza made a pass at herself to remind Belén how it was she ended up in jail. "When my husband died, I let that grief consume me in the worst way."

"Yeah, but Datura is the evil one. I'm just trying to survive!"

"Still, Belén, you can't let your life be governed by these women. Datura is getting to you and that's how she'll win."

"it's just frustrating, alright?" Belén sighed in annoyance. Everything Maritza was saying was true, but it didn't make it easier for Belén to stop acting that way. "She always wins me no matter what I do. I don't know what the hell her problem is but if I could get one answer from her it'd be why she hates me so much. Why me?"

"Well, why does Zoom hate Barry?"

"Because he's a psychopathic speedster hell bent on being number 1?"

Maritza's eyebrows raised as her eyes flickered to the side. "Good point _but_ there could be something else."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't say much about Zoom because even you guys don't know much about him but Datura...? She's made herself pretty known by now. I've seen the reports - how she attacks you so...aggressively? So... _personal_ _."_

Belén stared blankly at her sister.

"I mean, don't you get the feeling like there's an underlying, personal reason why Datura is hunting _you_ of all people?"

"I don't know," Belén shrugged. "She just hates me."

"Yeah but there's a difference between hating you because you're standing in someone's way and hating you because you're _you_. Like Zoom, he's attacked Barry because Barry's in his way to being number 1 but when Thawne attacked Barry...that was on a whole other level of _evil_. That's the level Datura seems to be on."

"But I don't get it, what could I have done to her?" Belén shook her head. "Thawne knew everything about Barry, like they'd lived together but Datura's from another world."

"Maybe she knew the other you on that world," Maritza's suggestion froze Belén in her seat. "Earth 2? What if Datura knew the you from that world and that you pissed her off?"

"I mean...I guess it's a possibility?" Belén scratched the top of her head. "But how would I know? Harry doesn't know anything about the Earth 2 me and if I ask him he'll just scream my head off because I'm focusing on the wrong thing."

"Well you don't need to know what Earth 2 you did, you just need to be more cautious. If Datura is _that_ type of angry with you...she'll kill you without a second thought."

Belén nodded. "I know," she said quietly.

Maritza watched her sister grow paler as she probably thought of the many ways Datura could murder her. "Belén," she said after a moment. "Go home."

Belén's eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

Maritza sighed and leaned forwards in her seat. "Go home, Belén. Go see Barry, or Mom...take a break."

"A...break?"

"Yes. You need a break from all this metahuman crap."

"I can't just take a break, Mar-"

"-oh yes you can because you have a team that'll substitute for you in the meantime. I know what I'm saying, Belén. Take a break for one night and just let you head clear up. I bet that accessing the Green might get easier if you do this."

Belén bit on her bottom lip. Taking a break, even a short one, did sound pretty good. "Well...my friends _are_ having their wedding this weekend. I'm a maid of honor but I told Barry I might cancel it-"

"-don't you dare, Annah-Belén!" Maritza pointed a finger at her sister, tapping her nail against the glass wall. "Go and have fun! Dance a little! I know you love doing that."

A small smile appeared on Belén's face. "Yeah...maybe you're right."

"I _am_ ," Maritza matched Belén's smile with her own. "Have some fun, Belén. You deserve it."

~ 0 ~

A small, silver device was being put together by Harry in the work room. It was late, it was a weekday, and it was the perfect moment to work on such a device if the idea was to not get caught.

"Journal entry 1-14: Turtle's brain. So, what I learned from Turtle's brain matter and the Reverse-Flash, as it turns out, has allowed me to complete a device that when installed inside The Flash's suit, will let me harness his speed, so that the next time he taps into the Speed Force…" but Harry trailed off, finding it difficult to say out loud just what he was planning on doing.

"So you could begin collection," a different voice finished for him. No longer did he startle from Datura's unannounced visits. He was sure it had to do with the same cellphone she'd given him a couple days ago.

"You know one of these days you _will_ get caught," Harry warned but there was no concern behind it. "Wouldn't be the worst thing…" he added in a low mumble.

Datura rolled her eyes as she came in. "I do my research. I know there's no one here. Update."

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. She'd taken much more care in this project than a normal villain would have. "On its way," he sarcastically waved the device."

She immediately grinned at the sight. "Excellent. So close…" she whispered. Her eyes roamed the room and suddenly her grin was gone. "One more thing, my doppleganger. What's her status? Did she get into the Green already?"

"...no."

"Good," Datura smirked, but Harry swore he'd seen a bit of a relief before that. A very brief one but there nonetheless. "We'll be seeing each other, then." As she left, she heard Harry mumble 'unfortunately' which only made her smirk. She loved when she held the power.

Still, that brief relief Harry had seen made its presence even when Datura had returned to Earth 2.

In her own greenhouse, the one she shared with Poison Ivy, she couldn't focus on her plants. When Poison Ivy returned from her own tasks, as given by Zoom, she'd found Datura about to leave.

"Where the hell are you going?" the ginger stopped her with one look.

"I'm...I was going out..."

"Where?"

"Out." Datura moved around the ginger but was promptly yanked back. "Hey!"

"You never just 'go out' into the city. Where were you really going?" Poison Ivy searched for the answer in Datura's face until she got it. "Oh," she let Datura's arm go, "I get it. You were going to see _him_."

"Never," Datura instantly said and turned away from her partner in crime. "You know I would never do that."

"But you've done it before," Poison Ivy's knowledge of her secret whereabouts pulled Datura around. The ginger smirked, though it dropped within the second to be replaced with a scolding look. "In secret, and from a distance, but stupid nonetheless."

Datura pursed her lips together. There were a range of words she wanted to say but she dared not. She knew Poison Ivy was right. But that was how things went sometimes - she was too much of her old self to think logically. "...I wasn't going there..."

"You're damn right you weren't," Poison Ivy snapped. "Because right now you focus on your survival. And even then, even afterwards, you _never_ go near him. That life is over, do you understand?"

Datura gave a nod of her head. "I know that."

Poison Ivy dropped her firm expression and gave her friend a sharp look. "I know seeing your doppelganger must be causing all these...things to resurface but you have to remember who _you_ are. And I'm only so persistent right now because of what's happening to you. All those metas inside your head, you can't afford to have an identity crisis. They can take you over if you slip."

Datura nodded again. She was completely right. "I know. I _need_ a cure. With it, I'll finally have the reigns to all these powers and, more importantly, I won't _die_!"

"And we'll get it," Poison Ivy put her hands on Datura's shoulders, looking as certain as possible. "You and I, we'll get it because we always get what we want."

Datura turned away from Poison Ivy and walked up to a table sprawled with single flowers. She'd been picking at them for a while. "She's trying to get into the Green. And she's been trying for a while now so...anytime now, she might actually get _in_." Behind her, Poison Ivy huffed at the mention of the horrid place. Datura turned sideways and saw the ginger fold her arms over her chest. "Tell me about it - the Green? I want to know about it."

"No, you don't," Poison Ivy dismissively said. "It's not a place for people like us."

"You mean criminals?" Datura then turned completely to face her friend. She knew well enough that Poison Ivy once had access to the Green but was kicked out once she turned evil. "C'mon, Pamela," she sighed, "I never got to see that place and I never will. You saw it, though. You know what it is, what it can do...please tell me about it?"

Poison Ivy groaned and dropped her arms to her sides. "It's the motherland of botanical metahumans. It's a forest, basically, where we can train, meditate, meet with other metahumans like us. But it's only for metas who don't abuse their power."

"In other words, no criminals," Datura nodded. "Like us. Even if I tried my hardest, the Green would never let me in...would it?"

Poison Ivy shook her head. "The Green is a sentient place. It knows who we are and what we do. It kicked me out when I started...branching out. It didn't want me, so it cut me off. Haven't been back there in years."

"But now Belén is trying to get in and that Black Orchid girl is helping her do it," Datura drew in a deep breath. "And if she gets in...she might actually get stronger."

"Yeah, but it's not going to help her at all. She can train all she wants but the truth is, logically speaking, you are the stronger one," Poison Ivy pointed at her, smiling with nothing but pride, "You have countless powers at your disposal. The Green won't do anything for her."

"Mhm," Datura passed a hand through her dark curls. "It's just...that doppelganger... _I_ have the better powers, _I_ have the strength, _I_ have lackeys at my disposal...and yet _she's_ the one who looks so much... _happier_." She gritted her teeth together and despite not seeing herself, she knew her eyes were flashing radiant colors. "I was on Earth 1 right now-" she plainly ignored Poison Ivy's disapproving glare, "-and do you know what she was doing? She went to therapy and then she comes out with this big grin on her face like she has no problems in her life. How is that fair!?"

"Snap out of it!" Poison Ivy practically shouted, startling the latter. The colors faded from Datura's eyes in seconds. "You are _never_ to compare yourself to that one! Your lives may have started out the same but _you_ are better! This petty jealousy of yours is what's going to bring you down! You _care_ Datura, and you shouldn't! Once you start to care, then you start to get _feelings_ again and those feelings were supposed to die the moment you turned into Datura. Do not _ever_ make that mistake again."

Datura nodded again but she turned away. "I...I need to go train."

Poison Ivy watched her head for one of the connecting rooms. She knew this 'tough love' thing was always hard on Datura, but it was the only way to remind her that they were above everyone. Datura always, at some point, had the annoying habit of becoming...like her old self. It was brief, but even that was something Poison Ivy wouldn't tolerate. She would always be there to remind Datura and reel her back to where she belonged.

~ 0 ~

The last week had been a troublesome one.

With the Turtle in their possession, the team figured defeating Zoom would then be easier...until they found the Turtle dead in the pipeline. With that plan gone, it was back to zero on the plans against Zoom. And if that wasn't enough, the Reverse-Flash briefly showing up to resurface old memories was the icing on top of their problems. The good thing was that he was gone - at least in their timelines - for good. For a while, the team was left to just...live their lives as normally as possible.

Thankfully, for Barry, he had a little help from his girlfriend.

Dressed in her scarlet red, off-the-shoulder, satin gown, Belén walked down the aisle with the other maids of honors. She was radiant - at least in Barry's mind - in the gown. She passed by him and winked but managed to keep a straight face afterwards. She would never hear the end of it from her friend - the bride - if she ruined her 'perfect wedding day'. Selena was a bit special when it came to events.

The wedding was a perfectly normal one, thank God. Barry couldn't remember when was the last time he did something normal like this. Granted none of his friends were married yet but that wasn't the point. The point was doing something normal and just having fun like any 26 year old would.

That just didn't exactly include _dancing_.

Belén sported a couple laughs here and there while she tried to get Barry to follow the rhythm of the dance. The reception was in full party mode and it was there that Barry discovered how good of a dancer Belén was even if she was away from her aerial silks. And her most preferred music?

That was something new for Barry too.

"Ooh, so you're a rock n' roll kind of girl," Barry stopped for a moment to watch Belén do her own little dance. The song was currently Jailhouse Rock and he could not - for the life of him - find his rhythm.

Belén did. Her red gown swished with her as she danced coolly to the song. "And you've got two left feet!" she replied. "Ha!"

When the song switched to Rockin Robin, Barry was ready to quit.

"C'mon!" Belén laughed as she reached for his hands to keep him on the dance floor.

"I don't - I think this is _your_ turf, Belén!" Barry tried pulling away but she wouldn't let go. She used her grip on his wrists to pull herself closer to him instead. She bit her her lower lip in a teasing way and continued to swish to the music.

It was a long time before Barry was finally able to take her away from the dance floor. And when he did manage to, Belén warned him she'd be back in 10 minutes tops.

"How about we get you something to drink before you de-hydrate?" he couldn't help laugh too. It was just such a lively atmosphere - it was crazy how he forgot how these things could be so... _normal_.

"Hey Belén!" another maid of honor was calling to them. "Selena's going to throw her bouquet in 15 minutes! Are you ready?"

"She needs to take a break first," Barry said just as Belén opened her mouth. She quickly shut it and threw him a mock glare. "You've been dancing nonstop for the past hour!"

Belén rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him. "Why don't you go get us those drinks, then?"

"When I come back, will you still be here?"

"...maybe," she shrugged.

The other maid of honor laughed at the pair while they went back and forth. "You guys are so funny."

"Thanks, Rebecca, but to be honest...he's so overbearing," Belén dramatically sighed.

Barry's expression quickly morphed into incredulity. "Excuse me?"

Belén quickly smiled at him. "Love you."

"You know she's only joking, right?" Rebecca knowingly smiled at Barry. "Back when we were doing our show for the Azalea tribute, she looked miserable. We knew she had some guy she was pining over."

"You can go now," Belén pointed at Rebecca. "And for the record I was not pining, I was..." Her nose crinkled when she realized that was probably the best way to describe how she'd felt those 6 months when she and Barry broke up.

"Worst mistake of my life," Barry's voice had gone soft. He reached for Belén's hand, the one that proudly showed off her promise ring. "Glad she took me back, though." Belén met his glance with a blushed smile, even more so when he kissed her cheek. "You still want a drink?" she nodded. "I'll be back in a minute."

Belén watched him go with a dreamy smile until Rebecca cleared her throat. "I'm glad to see you're doing better, Belén," she was obviously looking the ombre-blonde over. "You look nothing like the empty shell we had months ago."

"Gee, thanks, Becks," Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "You really wanted to embarrass me tonight." Rebecca laughed.

Barry returned only a few seconds later with three drinks in his hands, something he miraculously balanced without spilling.

"Thank you," Rebecca graciously accepted the glass meant for her. "So Belén, the others and I were talking about when you might want to come back to the team? It's been a while - I mean-" she quickly cut herself off for the last time Belén had done aerial dancing was when she was shot in front of a whole crowd. "I know it was hard...with what happened..."

"You mean getting shot?" Belén assumed where Rebecca's thoughts had gone off to and offered her blonde friend a kind smile. "It's okay, Becks. You can say that openly."

"I know, I..." Rebecca thought it was best to leave that matter behind and move onto what she'd been wanting to say, "It's just been a while and the team really misses you. We're not doing a show anytime soon but we're always practicing."

Belén nodded and exchanged a quick glance with Barry, the latter already giving her a sympathetic look. She knew what he meant. With all their problems, she _needed_ to drop aerial dancing for the moment. "I'd love to but...there's just a lot of things going on right now and...I need to solve those first before I can do aerial dancing again."

"What kind of things?" Rebecca's dark eyes flickered between the two metas, curious of course.

"Just...things..." Belén left it at that. "But as soon as they're done with, I'll be back."

Rebecca nodded, but it was clear she was still very curious of what was keeping Belén away from them. "Okay, well...the bouquet..." she jerked a thumb over her shoulder, backtracking as she reminded Belén, "Ten minutes!"

"Yeah," Belén nodded that she would be there soon.

"You didn't have to say no," Barry said as soon as it was just them two again.

Belén turned for their table with a sigh. "Yeah, I did. I don't have the time to do that when I have Datura hunting me. Plus," she took her seat with a plop and planted her glass on the table, "What if I do go back and then Datura decides to attack me there? The team could get hurt and Datura could expose me as the Azalea. I just can't risk that."

Barry sighed. He would like to argue but...she made sense. "Bells, I'm sorry."

"No," Belén waved a hand at him. "None of that stuff. I don't want to think about metahumans and hunting and...anything that's not happy." She reached for one of his hands and flashed him a big smile. "We're having fun here, right?"

"Of course! I haven't been to a wedding in ages," Barry looked around at the lively party. It was just so refreshing.

"Yeah," Belén agreed. "I'm glad we came. It's good to distract ourselves - I mean, we _are_ young, right? We deserve to party." Barry laughed. "What!?"

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Nothing, you want to go dance a little bit before the bouquet is thrown?"

Belén beamed at the idea. "Hell yeah!" she drowned the remainder of her drink - which was considerably a lot and therefore left Barry a little stunned she had that speed down. "C'mon!" she yanked him out of his chair and ran them to the dance floor.

~ 0 ~

It was dead quiet in Belén's apartment late at night until a certain speedster rushed in with a girl in a red dress. Both were laughing after a fun night.

The moment Barry put Belén down in the living room, she gasped. "We forgot the cake. I loved that cake!"

Barry playfully rolled his eyes and sped out of the apartment. A minute later he zipped into the kitchen then returned to the living room. "Grabbed and placed in your fridge. Better?"

Belén happily nodded her head. "Thank you!" She plopped down on the couch and reached down to her feet to take off her heeled shoes. "I tell you, heels make you feel powerful but they _hurt_ so much afterwards."

"Then why wear them?" Barry smiled at her struggling face. He walked over and bent down in front of her. He took over and unhooked her left shoe.

"Did...did you not just hear me? I feel powerful," she gave him a dead serious look. He rolled his eyes and chucked the shoe to the side. "It's all easy for men. All you have to do is wear a sharp suit and comb your hair. That's it. Injustice."

Barry successfully took off her right shoe and then threw it in the same direction the left shoe landed in. "I'm so sorry."

"You should be," she said automatically. "Although..." she looked him over with a degree of interest, "...you _do_ look kind of nice."

"Nice is all I get?"

"Fine, you look hot. Come here," she grabbed him by the edges of his bow tie and pulled him to her for a kiss.

Barry pressed a hand to the couch to support him as he climbed on, over her. "It's...kinda late..." he managed to say in-between kisses.

"So?" she pushed him up the necessary amount just to speak. "You're staying over, didn't you get the memo?"

"There was a memo?"

She smirked. "You take your girlfriend to a wedding, you're dressed like this-" she reached for his bowtie again and untied it, "-and I'm dressed like this?" she made a gesture at her scarlet dress. "What did you think was going to happen?"

She got him there. Fortunately, Barry caught on fast. He reached down to stroke her ankle and then dragged his fingers up along her leg, slipping underneath her dress in the process. "You're right," he smirked.

The roguish look on Belén's face was just begging for Barry to keep going. "Thought you'd see it my way."

~0~

Shivhan impatiently tapped her foot against the greenhouse's hardwood floor. A noise akin to annoyance slipped through her lips when Belén finally walked into the room. "There you are! You're late!"

"Am I?" Belén pulled her phone out of her back pocket and saw the time. "I'm like 30 minutes late, not that big of a deal."

"It _is_ when you have Datura on your ass. Remember her?"

Belén rolled her eyes. "How could I forget the woman who's been hunting me down? You know," she kicked off her shoes and stepped into one of the areas where there was sand instead of hardwood, "My sister advised me a couple days ago to take a break from metahuman things and honestly...it was such good advice."

"Well you can't stay on vacation forever," Shivhan watched Belén take a seat on the sand, cross-legged, and assume the zen position.

"I know, but it definitely helped me," Belén happily closed her eyes and took in a breath. Shivhan did have to admit that this was the first time Belén easily found her meditation spot.

"Okay," Shivhan squatted down in front of the ombre-blonde, "So basically the botanical metahumans I met up with in the Green all hate Poison Ivy and Datura so they are more than happy helping you take them down."

"How do they know them?" Belén cracked open one eye. "I thought you said the Green doesn't tolerate botanical metahumans who abuse their powers."

"Yeah," Shivhan nodded her head. "But Poison Ivy didn't always start out evil. She became evil over time _meaning_ she did, at one point, have access to the Green."

"And Datura?"

"She could've if Poison Ivy hadn't corrupted her."

A loud, probably unladylike, snort erupted from Belén's mouth. Her eyes snapped open. "Oh please. Nobody makes someone evil - you _choose_ to become evil."

"Actually," Shivhan bobbed her head, but Belén cut her off sharply.

"Oh _no_. You are _not_ going to tell me that Datura had some sob story that made her what she is."

"Not like that," Shivhan sighed and dropped her bottom to the floor and awkwardly crossed her legs. "I talked to the metas and some of them were from Earth 2. Datura started out as a pure botanical metahuman until her siphoning kicked in. _That_ wasn't a choice. And that's where Poison Ivy came in."

"They got together because they're the same horrible people," Belén frowned heavily.

"Whatever the case was, Datura could've had an honest shot at being a good person."

"But she didn't," Belén gritted her teeth together. "Did these metas happen to say something useful?"

"Yeah, actually, apart from the fact you have their undivided help and attention-" Shivhan made sure to repeat that in case Belén wanted to get snappy again, "-they believe the reason you can't get into the Green right now is because you're not doing it for the right reason."

"Excuse me?" Belén raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Not doing it for the right - what!? What does that even mean!?"

"Remember how I said the Green is a sentient place? A sentient being?"

Belén nodded.

"It feels you, Belén, wanting to get in. But it also feels that you're not trying to get in for the right reason."

"What reason would that be?"

"You just want to win against Datura."

Belén blinked, and before Shivhan would even say that it was wrong, Belén went ahead and excaimed, "Well of course I want to win! I want to defeat her! What else am I supposed to do against her?"

"But that's the thing - the Green is this annoying place, to be honest, and it really values the right and wrong morals."

"Now this definitely feels like how the Speedforce annoys Barry with this crap," Belén groaned. "So then what? Am I not supposed to want to defeat Datura? She's hurt a lot of people and it's only fair that she gets taken down."

"I know," Shivhan nodded, fully agreeing with Belén's perspective. "Believe me, I want to defeat Datura as much as you do."

"So then why won't the Green let me do it!?" Belén practically shouted in Shivhan's face, not that she meant to but she was just upset.

"I don't know, I mean..." Shivhan raked a hand through her long dark hair. "The other metas think the Green might be seeing it as a way for you to fall into that dark path that Datura did. You know, like, if you only want access to the Green - a place meant for peacefulness - because you want to beat some person, it can pave the way to a road of selfishness. You'd be doing things for the wrong reason."

"So then what am I supposed to do?" frowned Belén. "Let Datura keep kicking my ass? Let her _kill_ me? Is that what the Green wants?"

"The Green is something difficult to understand but it does usually look out for us."

Belén exhaled a shaky breath, suddenly wishing she was back in her blissful vacation bubble. "What do I do now?"

"Well..." Shivhan tilted her head to the side and thought for a moment, "...maybe that whole vacation thing you were talking about? Keep at it. Figure out a better reason why you need to get into the Green."

"But I..." Belén rubbed her face in exasperation. "I just want to defeat her so she won't hurt people! Isn't that a good enough reason!?"

Shivhan could only shrug. The Green sure did work in mysterious way.

~ 0 ~

Nowadays, it wasn't that out of place for Iris to notice Belén wasn't 100% into her job. She felt for her friend, honestly. If it wasn't her mother one day, it was Datura the next day and then throw in their usual metahumans and regular criminals...it had to be difficult remembering she was one woman. And since Belén was forgetting that, Iris would take it upon herself to remind Belén of the good things she had going right now.

"Hey!" Iris stopped by Belén's desk with a wide smile on her face, something Belén didn't see as her gaze was glued to her computer screen.

"Hey," the ombre-blonde murmured.

"I just finished talking to the editor, Scott, and he told me he's running your piece on the Black Orchid article you wrote up."

That definitely seemed to pull Belén out of whatever trance was keeping her silent and reclusive that afternoon. "He is?" she looked at Iris with unbelieving eyes. "Last time I heard he told me I was being too...biased, again."

"What?" Iris laughed shortly.

"Yeah," Belén leaned back against her desk chair. "I meant for the Black Orchid piece to be an introduction to...Shivhan," she whispered their friend's name, "Let the city know that it _is_ possible to have a botanical metahuman who isn't evil, apart from the Azalea."

"You wrote that thinking of Datura," Iris folded her arms.

"Yes, obviously! Why else would I?'

Iris raised an eyebrow at her friend. She was a bit surprised that question actually came out of Belén. "Umm.." Iris pursed her lips together for a second, "...maybe to show the city the great things that Black Orchid has done without recognition? You know, the usual things you for when you write an article."

Belén knew what Iris meant and suddenly thought back to Shivhan's words. _The reason you can't get into the Green right now is because you're not doing it for the right reason_. _You just want to win against Datura_. She put an arm on her chair's armrest and tilted her head back. "Okay, I see what you mean and that's _not_ what I meant."

"I know that," Iris said, sounding fairly sure which did relieve Belén a bit. "So how come you're not as excited as I am for this article to run? I think it's wonderful and the fact you're the first reporter to even know about this new meta - Belén, that's a really good thing for your writing career!"

"I _am_ happy, but..." Belén sighed, straightening her head. "You know what we're dealing with, right? I'm just overwhelmed..."

"Yeah, but then this is an even bigger reason to be excited about this article! I think we should celebrate!" Iris declared suddenly when she got the picture of a nice, relaxing dinner in her mind. "Oh yeah! We should definitely do this!"

"I don't know, Iris..." Belén began to shake her head, but it would be futile to fight against Iris West.

"Let's do it! We can do it in my backyard! It's such a nice day out and it'll probably stay like that tonight!"

"But-"

"-I'm doing it!" Iris pointed at her, so excited for this idea she just got a minute ago. "We're so doing it!"

"...I guess we're doing it," Belén had no choice but to agree, though there was a tiny smile on the corner of her lips. Iris saw it and thus realized that they really did need something like this or they would just lose it.

~ 0 ~

"A dinner party?" Shivhan visibly crinkled her nose as soon as Cisco and Caitlin told her the plans for tonight. "For _what_?" she moved towards the screens hanging in the cortex wall. They'd been trying to see if Datura or Poison Ivy, even Zoom, had made any appearances.

"For _you_ ," Cisco answered in the same tone she'd used on them.

"And Belén," Caitlin made sure to add in. "Her article on the Black Orchid is running this week. It's a big deal."

"Yeah, for her, but why do you need me?" Shivhan looked over her shoulder to see Cisco's scrunched face.

"What do you mean!?" the man practically shouted in the room. " _You're_ the topic of the damn article!" Shivhan rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the screens. "You're the first botanical metahuman to surface as a good guy after the Azalea debuted last year. That doesn't happen very often here."

"It sounds boring," Shivhan turned around and walked up to the back of the main desk. "And no offence to Iris, but I don't really see the point in making me go."

"It's a nice way of celebrating," Caitlin said. "I really think you should go, plus...Iris already said you're coming."

"Oh, did she?" Shivhan raised an eyebrow. She was dismayed to see both Caitlin and Cisco nodded their heads. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"We're not," Cisco assured her. "Be there at 8 pm."

Shivhan audibly groaned as she left the cortex.

"So, who's going to tell Harry?" Cisco turned to Caitlin, his expression already indicating it wasn't going to be him. "And Jay?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "I already asked Jay and he said he couldn't go. He's working on some training routine for Barry. And Harry just flatout said no."

"There's a shocker," Cisco's sarcasm wasn't out of place but it didn't mean Caitlin liked it.

"He's upset that we're still no closer to finding Jesse and stopping Zoom. It's understandable. You should try being a bit more of that," Caitlin offered him a small smile before leaving herself.

It's not that Cisco didn't try, it was that Harry had such a... _challenging_ personality.

~ 0 ~

"I can't believe I'm being forced to go to this," Belén grumbled as she put on her silver earrings in front of her mirror. She was just finishing up getting ready for the dinner party she wasn't very excited for. She should be more appreciative of what Iris was trying to do for her, she knew, but...she just couldn't do it.

"Hey Bells, you ready?" Barry poked his head into her bedroom. She gave a silent nod amd stood up. "You don't look very excited," noted the speedster as he walked into the room. Of course that wasn't a surprise since Iris warned him just before coming to pick Belén up that the woman wasn't very into the idea of a celebration.

"Is it that obvious?" Belén sighed.

"Uh yeah. And I don't understand why since you did something good that deserves to be recognized."

"It's just an article," Belén's flat, dismissive tone was startling. Usually she was over the moon whenever she wrote something new, especially when it got much more praise than she would've thought.

"What? No, it's not!" Barry exclaimed. He grabbed her hands and pulled her flush against him. "Iris said this was the first ever article to feature a botanical metahuman, besides yourself, who isn't a criminal. _And_ she also said you got a lot of hits on this one, including from your own editor. Why didn't you tell me any of that?"

"I don't know," Belén shrugged. "I just... didn't see the hype, I guess."

"This is not hype, it's _recognition_. And you deserve it," Barry swooped down to kiss her lips. "And I'm a little concerned that it's so hard for you to understand it."

All Belén could do was shrug again. She murmured a quick 'let's just go'.

~0~

Iris had done a good job adorning the backyard for their impromptu dinner. She'd brought out a long table to fit all their guests in one go. (It was at this point that Joe smugly reminded her how she'd wanted to throw that table away at some point). She put a nice cream-colored drape over the table and had plates set out for everyone coming.

Wine was a must, though she did get a look from one speedster who could not get drunk even a bit.

She'd even gotten Shivhan's help to decorate the yard with hanging lights. It was easier to use her vines to simply hang them up high instead of getting a ladder to hang each one.

"It smells good!" Axel said as soon as he and his grandmother walked into the backyard. His nose was in the air and he sniffed until he found the trail towards the lidded pot on the table.

"I'm sorry," Veronica stopped beside Iris, "I would've left him with Mrs. Andrews but I feel terrible using her so much as my babysitter."

"Oh no! I'm glad you brought him along!" Iris laughed as she saw the young four year old climbing onto a chair to have dinner now. "This is for his aunt. He should be here."

"Thank you," Veronica smiled with relief. "Now I have to go explain to Axel we don't have dinner until everyone's here." She walked on towardd the table to do the task.

Little by little, the others began to arrive. The last ones were, shocker, Belén and Barry.

"You look great!" Iris complimented Belén on her sleeveless, emerald green dress, but all Belén did was smile politely and move on.

"Yeah, I tried complimenting her too and she blew me off," Barry said after it was just them two. "Thought I said everything right but all she did was go-" he mimicked a shrug, "-and walked away."

"Yeah, I'm a bit worried about her," Iris watched Belén mingle with her mother, but even that seemed entirely forced and without much energy. "I thought maybe this-" she made a gesture at the backyard, "-would be enough to instigate some excitement but...I guess not."

Barry put a hand on her arm. "She's thankful for it, Iris. I'm thankful for it too." Iris nodded but there was a gnawing in the corner of her mind that told her this was a bad idea from the start.

Time ticked on by and despite everyone congratulating Belén, she still didn't lighten up. She was trying her best but it just wasn't coming to her. She had a lovely dinner that she knew Iris cooked with much love and listened to her family's stories that on another day would've made her laugh. Eventually, she got up from her chair - an abrupt action that earned herself some unwanted attention - and excused herself for air.

"Air?" Cisco was left repeating, giving the others a confused glance. "We're _outside_!"

"Should someone go check up on her?" Iris quietly asked Barry who was sitting on her left. He nodded but he also wanted to give Belén some time alone.

That hadn't been the right choice, but Barry wouldn't know yet.

~ 0 ~

Belén had left the Wests' home and taken the sidewalk as a momentary refuge for silence and solitary. She just needed a couple minutes and then she would be fine, ready to go back and give everyone the appreciation they deserved.

"Poor little Belén..."

Belén froze on the sidewalk. She closed her eyes the moment she recognized the smug voice taunting her. "Not now, I'm so tired..." She heard the woman's mocking laugh, but when Belén opened her eyes to meet Datura...no one was around. "Great, am I hearing things now?" Belén turned back for the Wests' and started walking again.

"Where are you going?"

This time Belén was forced to stop as an aggressive pain struck her head. She tried raising one hand to touch her head, but even that was a struggle. She was definitely not hearing things. This was _real_.

Datura's soft, mocking laugh filled Belén's ears. "Did I mention I got a new power?"

And suddenly, Belén's vision blurred. Two seconds later, her vision re-arranged itself to show her she was in a completely white environment. There was nothing there; no noise, no sky, no streets, nothing.

But she wasn't alone.

Datura's figure stood across Belén, wearing that all-familiar smirk on her masked face. "New trick I learned - you like?"

Belén frowned. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're in...how should I say it...my own little mind world. I just killed some guy after Christmas for these powers. I'd been watching him for some time and I figured 'now's as good a time as any'," Datura shrugged so carelessly it physically pained Belén to witness it.

"How could you be like that?" Belén swallowed hard. She knew this was probably how Datura viewed _her_. "Do you think people are just so insignificant that it doesn't matter that you kill them?"

Datura started to smirk. "Am I finally getting to you, Belén?" The ombre-blonde quickly looked away. "Have I finally started cracking you down? _Good_. Because that's how I play with my victims. I make them go crazy until I finally just snap them in two."

Belén hated that her eyes were tearing up, but Datura was right - Datura was finally getting to her. "Why?" Belén found herself asking, demanding. "Why _me_? Why do you hate me so much?"

Datura tilted her head, her lips wanting to form a mocking pout but she also wanted to keep smirking. She truly was cracking her doppelganger and the feeling she felt - the satisfaction - nearly cured her on the spot. "It's what you deserve," the words easily tumbled from her mouth.

A humorless laugh slipped from Belén. " _What_!? What could I have _possibly_ done to earn such hatred from you? We're not even from the same world!"

Datura's smirk dropped completely. It was replaced by that deep hatred Belén always saw in the woman's eyes. "Because what you have, you don't deserve. _I_ deserved the world. I did everything right, I lived a good life...and do you know what I got? The world paid me shit. And now here _you_ are, practically being handed everything by this world." She wagged her finger. " _Nu-uh_. It doesn't work that way. It shouldn't."

"But why _me_!?" Belén frantically shouted, her hands hitting her chest repeatedly. "Why specifically me? So what if my life turned out better than yours? Other people live way better lives than I have. Why don't you go after them!?" It was a selfish question, but in that moment Belén wanted to know why it was _her_ that Datura was hunting.

"Because I chose you," Datura answered flatly, and it technically was true. She didn't have the option of finding more worlds with their doppelgangers, at least not right now. And even then, Datura felt like even if she did have that option...something about this Belén would still have drawn her in. "It had to be you, my dear Belén."

"I hate you," Belén's voice was shaky and strained. Tears rolled down her cheeks and there was a lump in her throat that kept her from sounding as brave as she wanted to be. "I _really_ hate you. You are making my life _miserable_! My family is throwing me a celebration for an article I worked hard on and I don't have the desire to be happy about it. Because of _you_. Because I keep thinking about how to defeat you. I'm distancing myself from them, from Barry - I'm making myself lonely."

"Good," Datura's voice was hard as her own memories surfaced in her mind. "That's how it starts. You have the entire world and you're forced to withdraw. That's how I lost my husband, you know. He was gentle and loving...but I put distance between us. Same with my family."

" _You're_ making me distant myself from everyone," Belén clarified. "Every moment that I'm awake I'm wondering how to win you, how to take you down. I'm not living my life because of you."

" _I'm_ not making you do anything," Datura put a hand over her chest. "Every choice you make, you make it because you want to. You don't have to. Not like I did, not like I had to."

"STOP!" Belén fiercely shouted. She hated how alike Datura was making them sound. She was _nothing_ like that woman.

But Datura laughed. "Oh Belén, you have no idea what's coming. I'm coming for you, Zoom is coming for Barry...and the rest of the crew? We're coming for your city. You might as well stop living your life anyways because there'll be no point. It's going to end. I'm glad that I'm governing your life, I deserve that. Have fun with that."

Belén wished with everything she had that she could just erase the woman from existence, but she wasn't that type of powerful. But, something else had hit her too. Datura was relishing in the power she held over her. Even when the meta cut their mind connection, and Belén was back on the street, she could feel Datura's satisfaction that she was crumbling to pieces. Datura knew exactly what she was doing. Mind games. Every villain's favorite game.

"Belén!?" Barry was desperately calling on the street when Belén finally made her way back to the Wests'. She didn't realize how far she'd walked along. The speedster was only a couple houses down from the Wests', but Belén could see his panic-stricken face from a mile away.

"I'm here," she rubbed her left temple, still feeling a ghost of the pain from Datura's little mind connection. That Barry saw.

"What happened!?" he was in front of her in a second, hands on her arms as he examined her for any visible injuries.

"Datura happened, what else is new?" Belén felt like a broken record with how much she complained about that damn metahuman.

"Is she here!?" Barry looked over her head to the dark streets.

"No, I don't know where she was but she got a new power. She can pull you into a mind world now. Isn't that lovely?"

Barry disregarded her sarcasm in favor of her well being. He pulled her into a tight hug, unknowingly giving Belén something she didn't know she needed. She rested her head against his chest, her arms snaking up his back to tighten their hug.

 _I'm distancing myself,_ she realized with a heavy heart. She was distancing herself and depriving herself of the warmth and support Barry was always giving. The more she realized, the more she craved his touch.

"Do you want to go home?" Barry whispered after a couple minutes. He hadn't dared let go of her, nor tried to pry her arms off him. Something was going on through her head right now and he would be there for her.

"No, I can't do that. I've been rude enough to Iris and everyone else."

"They all get you're going through some stuff," Barry pressed a kiss on her hair. "They would understand if you left early."

Belén knew he was right, but she still didn't want to leave. Datura's words were really hitting her, and perhaps that's what she needed to snap her out of it. She pulled away from Barry, only the amount she needed to be able to face him. "Let's go back. I just need to sit outside for a moment then I'll be good."

Though it wasn't what Barry would think she needed, nor wanted, he agreed and took them back to the Wests'. The two metas sat outside on the front porch, top step.

Belén brought her hands to her head while she took breaths in and out. "I had to ask her _why..._ why _me_? Why does she despise me so much?"

"And did she tell you?" Barry asked even though he assumed the answer.

Belén rolled her eyes when she remembered Datura's smug answer. "She chose me," her humorless laugh rang in the air. "Can you believe that? Like I _chose_ to be a part of this...madness!"

"Belén I'm sorry." Barry felt useless not knowing what else to say to her. He knew exactly how she felt because he'd gone through it with Thawne. And for his experience, there was nothing anyone could say that would make things better. The only thing he remembered that made him feel a bit better was having, ironically, Belén, at his side.

That's what he needed to do right now, then.

"Barry..." Belén felt his hand lace his fingers with hers. "I'm sorry," she looked up at his confused expression. "I've been a jerk, basically. To you and everyone else."

"No-"

"-I have been, I know. And you know that's how Datura started?" Belén shook her head, just think about the resemblance between them that Datura tried showing made her feel sick. "She said that's how she lost her husband and family. She started distancing herself from them. I don't - I don't want to do the same. I'm doing the same..."

"You're not..." but even as Barry tried to insist the opposite, he was well aware it _was_ the case. He just hadn't wanted to tell her that because of everything she had going on. "Look Belén," he decided to go in a different path, "I get it. I get why you wanted space from us. I've been there and...I wasn't going to reproach you for something that I did too. My plan was to just give you some decent space until I felt you were ready to talk about it."

Belén nodded silently. "You're so good to me, Barry," she whispered then sighed.

"No, I _understand_ you," Barry gave her a kind smile.

Belén closed her eyes for a second, letting his soft fingers soothe her skin. Yeah, she'd deprived herself of this too. "You know when we went to my friend's wedding...that was the most fun I had in _months_. It was so...free, you know?" she opened her eyes and looked at him. "And then I let Datura take it away from me. I don't want her to have that power over me. It's the last thing I own. I can't give her that too." Belén would honestly hate herself even more than she hated Datura if she gave that woman the power to ruin her life like this.

"So let's try, little by little, to remind yourself that you don't let Datura get to you like this," Barry's suggestion was do-able, and sensible. Belén just hoped she could stick to it.

"Okay," Belén nodded. She looked down at their intertwined hands and started smiling. "Datura can't take this away from me," she raised her gaze to meet his. "She can't take you away either."

"I wasn't going to let her," Barry nearly scoffed at the idea.

Belén chuckled and during that, Barry used their intertwined hands to pull her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his hands rest on her back. Belén brought her hands to his face and pulled him over for a kiss. It was a short kiss, but it was gentle and soft and honestly what Belén really needed right now.

"Now that you're listening...can I tell you how pretty you look again?" Barry looked her over as if it was the first time he'd seen her.

Belén laughed and playfully whacked his chest. "You're such an idiot."

"Say what you want but can I sleep over tonight?" he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, admittedly making her shiver. He'd realized he could make her shiver in _that_ sense and had been abusing the power ever since.

"I think we can go inside now," she said before he could draw her attention away completely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Belén nodded firmly. "I deserve to have more fun like we had at the wedding. Datura knows the power she has over me and I would much rather show her that she can't hold me like that. Plus...I kind of love you guys."

Her honest smile was what sold Barry. He stole another kiss from her, intending on making it a quick one but the moment got away from them. Belén held him like her life depended on him...and honestly he probably was a good part of her reason to snap out of her funk. Barry's hand pressed harder over her back, the satin of her dress becoming more offensive by the second.

Somehow, they managed to break away but it was with heavy breaths and lingering looks on each other.

"We gotta go," Belén couldn't help but laugh a bit. Barry agreed fast. They got up together and headed back inside the house.

Everyone was relieved to have Belén back. A good part of them, if not all of them, had guessed Barry would be unsuccessful in convincing her to come back to the party. But she came back, and she came back with an honest smile on her face. None of them would know the little visit Datura paid her.

Since their actual dinner was over, all that was left was to finish the wine. Belén was the one to propose they do a small toast, though her intention was not to praise herself.

"Why can't I have that too?" Axel was giving his grandmother the biggest pout a four year old could muster. Everyone had wine in their glasses but he had apple juice instead.

"Because it's for grownups, now shush," Veronica gave him a stern warning not to even try arguing.

"It's okay little man," Cisco patted the boy's hair, "Apple juice is way better." But he then mouthed a ' _not it's not_ ' to Caitlin and Shivhan. Both women rolled their eyes at him. Axel drowned his apple juice then swiped the last sweet bread from the table before making a dash into the house, calling to Veronica that he would be using her cellphone for games.

"Better to have him in there," Veronica waved the boy off, hoping he'd lull himself to sleep in the end.

"I just want to thank everyone for your kind words about my article," Belén had positioned herself at the end of the long dinner table. She had a glass of wine in one hand while her other arm was wrapped around Barry. Maybe she hadn't wanted to let go of him after all, who knew. "It really means a lot because I know I've been very...difficult lately. I love writing, I do, and to not care about it - even if it was just for a few days - was _so_ hard. I let Datura get into my head and that is the worst mistake I could ever do."

"We get it, Belén. We understand you, trust us," Caitlin was the one to say. She offered Belén a kind smile, much like everyone else was.

"And you have no idea how much that means to me," Belén sighed. When she began to speak again, her eyes looked directly at her mother...because she'd been avoiding this topic for a while now. "Datura has made it very clear that she wants me dead but before that...she likes to play with her victims. She's made me into a victim by making me feel like I had to put some distance between myself and my family."

Veronica's head tilted to the head, eyes widening a bit. "Datura is specifically after you, then?"

"She's hunting me, Mom," Belén felt tears well in her eyes, even more so when she saw the terrified look in her mother's own eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you that. I-I didn't have the courage to. I thought you might reject my metahuman side again..."

"I...I don't even know what to say, honestly," Veronica knew, however, that she did _not_ want to argue again. She looked at the others and saw their sympathetic faces, more from Joe since they were the only parents at the table. "But...but everyone here is helping you, so...so we'll get through it. I'm not going away again, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Mom," Belén leaned on on Barry's side. "Datura won't play with me like this. She won't win. But for now, I want to actually enjoy my life. I've had some fun...recently..." she met Barry's look, both smiling at the reminder of their wedding attendance. "And I'd like to keep having more fun. I deserve it - we all do."

"Hell yeah," Cisco raised his glass to the air. Everyone chuckled.

"And to Shivhan," Belén said just before the woman in question was about to drink from her glass, "Thanks for letting me write about you in the first place."

"Don't know why you _wanted_ to in the first place," Shivhan raised her glass towards Belén, ignoring the other's laugh as she drank.

"Because Black Orchid deserved to get recognition for what she'd been doing in her part of the city," Belén said. "And just to finish this off," her eyes flickered to Iris who was the closest one standing to her and Barry. "Thank you for this lovely dinner. I _am_ very grateful for all of this."

That brought a genuine smile to Iris' face, and a good part of relief. She always got the feeling that she may come across as irritating whenever she pushed Belén to do thins like these. In a world full of evil metas, dinner parties might seem a bit irrelevant.

"I am very grateful for everything and everyone in my life," Belén looked directly up at Barry, sharing another smile with him.

"As am I," the speedster happily said back. He gripped the hold he had on her and shared a drink with her and the rest of their family.

~ 0 ~

"You're exhausted," Poison Ivy told Datura the moment she saw her partner lying down on the cold ground. She had her head tilted back and her fingers pinching her nose. "What did you do?"

"Used that new mind power I got," Datura let go of her nose and revealed the tips of her gloved fingers were bloody. "Each time I use these damn powers I get more tired. How pathetic is that?"

"It's part of your condition," the ginger reminded. "So what did you use the powers for?"

"I did what you advised me to," Datura pushed her upper body up, supporting herself on her elbows. "Got into my doppelganger's head, said some words - blah, blah, blah - that are sure to keep her away from the Green."

"You sure you said the right things?" Poison Ivy walked over to a table full of cut up datura flowers. She picked one flower up and viewed its unpatterened - almost messy - cuts. Datura had been more aggressive lately and Poison Ivy could guess why.

"Oh yeah," the dark brunette smirked proudly. "You said to make sure that she felt alone and lost and that's exactly what I made sure of."

"Good," Poison Ivy smiled over her shoulder. "The Green won't let anyone enter if they're not doing it for the right reasons. If all she wants to do is take you down, the Green will never let her in."

Datura watched her partner gingerly care for the flowers she brutally cut up in one of her angry episodes. "Is that what happened to you, then?"

Poison Ivy dropped the datura in her hand and turned to face metahuman. "I was only exploring my powers and if some measly humans had to die in order for beautiful plants to rise? So be it. The Green didn't agree with me."

"And you're still bitter about it," noted Datura. There was a hint of a tease on her face.

"The Green is not a place where we belong, my dear. We are better than the Green - we are better than all the other botanical metahumans out there. We're the best."

"Right we are," Datura smirked and let herself fall back to the ground. She pulled her legs up as if she were about to sit up again but all she did was stare up at the ceiling. "I'm better than her," she whispered.

~ 0 ~

It was late at night when Belén was woken up by a terrible scream that didn't belong to her. It took a couple seconds for her to register that it'd been Barry who screamed. She shifted on the bed to see the speedster sitting upright, chest heaving hard and fast.

"What happened!? Are you okay!?" she quickly sat upright as well. She touched his arm and instantly felt the beads of sweat on his skin. "...you had a nightmare again, didn't you?" she soon realized.

Barry nodded and, once he started returning to reality, he got embarrassed. He didn't mean to scream and wake her up like that. If he knew he was going to have another Zoom nightmare then he would've stayed with Joe and Iris tonight.

"About Zoom again?" Belén asked quietly, scooting herself closer to his side. He nodded again. "What happened?"

"I don't - you don't have to..." he shook his head, embarrassment just dripping from him.

"Don't do that," she told him immediately. "What happened?"

"I-I was...you and I...we were...the dinner party...you finished talking and then...he came. Zoom came and killed every single on of them...and then he killed you right in front of me. I was _holding_ you-" he held out his arms as if he were actually holding someone, "-and he _still_ managed to kill you."

"Oh Barry, none of that was true. It wouldn't happen," she rubbed a hand over his back soothingly.

"He's way faster than me, Bells. It could happen and I wouldn't be able to save you or the others," Barry brought his hands to his face, burying the latter into his hands. "I need to get faster, train more..."

"We can do that," Belén nodded. "We can definitely train. We could even train with each other - you and Jay could train. He's an excellent teacher who knows more about Zoom than we do. But right now, I just want you to lay back down and let me hug you."

"Maybe I should go to STAR Labs right now." But the moment Barry moved just an _inch_ , Belén was on him.

"No! It is 4 a.m mister! You're getting sleep!" she pulled him down and put an arm around him. "Besides, being sleepy while you're training isn't going to help you at all. If anything, it'll make you weaker."

"I need to train, Bells," he rested on his left side which allowed him to face her.

"I know," she said softly. "Because I do too. But just like you said you'd be there for me, I'm here for you. And right now, I want you to go back to sleep and let me take care of you."

Barry nodded. He was kind of tired still. And were his eyes getting a bit heavier?

Belén smiled lightly as he started blinking faster to keep himself awake. He probably wasn't even fully awake to begin with. She decided to help him by stroking bits of his hair. It was just the trick. Five minutes later, he was back to sleep. It relieved Belén, honestly, because just like she got into her funk easily...so did he. But this was why they were there for each other. And she wanted to keep doing this for years and years to come. The rest of her life, even. She wanted to be there for him whenever he needed her, whether it was for things like this or something more simple like supporting each other's work.

Whatever it was that involved both of them, she wanted to be there.

Hell, she wanted to be there for everyone else in her life. She wanted to keep working on her relationship with her mother, watch Axel grow up, work her way up in CC Picture News...

She just wanted to live.

And that's when it hit her.

Belén's eyes widened. She turned back to her night stand and picked up her phone. Yup, it was a little past 4 a.m. She looked back to Barry and saw (and felt) he was truly asleep. With luck, he wouldn't wake up until much, much later.

 _I gotta do it_. _It's now or never_ , she thought. She got up from bed and went in search for plain clothes she could travel to STAR Labs in.

Five minutes later, she had brought herself to STAR Labs via vines. It wasn't as fast as the usual speed, but it was enough to be quick. She rushed straight for her greenhouse. She hadn't even bothered taking shoes with her so it was a lot easier to get into her usual sandy spot on the floor. She practically dropped to her bottom, crossing her legs and assuming the zen position. She closed her eyes and opened her mind.

All this time she'd been trying to clear her mind and that wasn't going to work for her. It might work for Shivhan but they were all different in the end. Belén thought not about winning Datura as the reason she needed to get into the Green, but instead she thought about the reasons why she wanted to _live_. She didn't want to be a victim, but more importantly she wanted to be happy and spend her time with the people she loved; the people who _made_ her happy. They needed her as much as _she_ needed _them_.

And for the first time since she started practicing for the Green's domain, Belén felt a rush of peacefulness spread throughout her body. Zen was taking a whole new definition for her.

It was funny how she heard her last exhale and instantly knew that she'd been transferred somewhere knew. Her exhale had sounded like an echo and when it was finished, when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but forest green in front of her.

' _Welcome to the Green, Belén_ ,' the Green itself spoke to her. Belén had no idea where the voice was coming from - there was no body anywhere near her - but she knew exactly who it was. ' _I'm glad you finally figured out why it was you needed to come.'_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Aaah, let me just tell you that I really loved writing the bits of the Green. It and Belén have a good conversation in the next chapter, as well as some revelations. Plus, new botanical metas!


	17. The Here and Future

"Well, look who finally showed up!" Cisco's voice roared in the air the moment Shivhan walked into the cortex.

"What?" Shivhan thought it was far too early to start with him.

"Cisco," Caitlin reprimanded him for his lack of seriousness in the matter.

"What - we called her an hour ago!" the man exclaimed then shot a glare and pointed a sharp finger at Shivhan. "We called you an _hour_ ago!"

"Yeah, it was 6 a.m," Shivhan's tone indicated that should be enough explanation for her tardiness.

"It's an emergency! Barry's freaking out and frankly, so are we!"

"Would you relax?" Shivhan stuffed her hands into her fluffy coat's pockets.

"We're just concerned about Belén given the, um...way we found her..." Caitlin said then nodded for Shivhan to follow her and Cisco out the cortex.

Shivhan was led right into the greenhouse where indeed Belén was, but completely shut out from reality. There was an initial shock in Shivhan's face that worried Barry - the speedster had been the one to find Belén in the greenhouse earlier. His natural response was to panic, which was completely normal to anyone who didn't know what happened.

Belén was sitting on the ground cross-legged, her eyes shut and...surrounded by thick vines entwined around branches. There was a golden glow around the vines. There were noticeable patches of green on Belén's skin, much like it would appear whenever she'd lost control of her powers.

"What's wrong with her?" Barry asked Shivhan, his voice full of fear. Had Datura pulled another trick on them while they were asleep?

But a smile started spreading across Shivhan's face. "...nothing." Her answer was definitely a confusing one for the other three.

Caitlin tilted her head in her usual manner, her eyes even squinting a bit. Cisco just raised an eyebrow with a questionable look on hid face, almost looking like he was about to scream 'are you looking at the same thing we are?' at Shivhan. Barry, for his part, just needed an explanation before he lost it.

"Shivhan, what's going on?" He asked again.

But Shivhan was smiling even bigger. Her eyes met Barry's worried ones. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong with Belén. She's done it, Barry. She's gotten access to the Green." She walked up to Belén, missing the collective stunned expressions of the trio behind her. She looked down at Belén in pure fascination. "I've never seen this in real life but the other metas that I talk to would tell me about this. The branches? The vines? They're meant to protect her from any external threat while she's talking." She bent down in front of Belén, her left hand reaching to touch one of the branches but ultimately didn't for fear of what could happen with her uninvited contact.

"Talking to who?" Barry wanted to know who trapped Belén in those vines and branches.

Shivhan looked away from Belén, her face completely enamored with the situation. "She's having a hearing with the one and only...the Green."

~0~

Belén couldn't stop taking in the enchanted forest she had the privilege of being in. It was all shades of green with a beautiful permanent sunset sky, though there was no actual sun bringing light to the land. How the hell they had light was just one of the mysteries of the Green. As far as she could see, the forest seemed endless, just like Shivhan had once described. It didn't seem to stop. The trees varied in sizes. Some of them resembled more skyscrapers than actual trees. There were regular sized trees and then there were ones barely qualified to be branded as trees. The one thing Belén did notice straightaway were the countless vines entwined with nearly everything. They were on the ground, swirling in odd shapes and enveloping logs or the roots of trees. There were more vines swinging from one tree to the next, others leading into nearby lakes.

The bushes holding all types of flowers and the plants sprouting from almost everywhere did make Belén smile. She'd already seen her Azaleas somewhere, and even a few Black Orchids. The Green accommodated all of its botanical metahumans after all.

There were lakes too. And Belén was sure she was hearing the fall of a waterfall, but she couldn't see it. Actually, she couldn't see a lot of the land because ever since she arrived... she'd been kept hold by the Green itself.

"I can't believe you denied me the chance to see this place," she couldn't help but huff.

 _'I didn't deny you anything. You denied yourself_ ,' the Green promptly retorted. 'You _only wanted to come here to defeat another metahuman.'_

"Have you _seen_ Datura? Can you _blame_ me?" Belén sighed. "She can kill me in 2 minutes flat. I like living. I _want_ to live."

 _'And?_ '

Belén was sure if the Green had an actual face, it would be looking rather smug right now. "Aaaand...I want to live for my family. So now would you please help me? I've got zero tactics against Datura and she knows it. She knows that I'm weak."

 _'I have seen you, Belén. I've watched you ever since you became a metahuman. I've watched your struggles and how you overcame them. You must know that facing Datura is not your ultimate battle. It's what begins to shape you for your future.'_

Belén rolled her eyes. "Instead of watching me, how come you didn't invite me to this place?"

 _'Because you didn't have a good control over your powers. The Green is not responsible for your control.'_

"Oh, thanks," Belén muttered, folding her arms over her chest. "Maybe the Speedforce _is_ better."

" _We are the same,_ " the Green promptly said. " _The Speedforce and the Green are very aware of each other, as well as the others forces behind many metahuman powers_."

"...how many places like these _are_ there?" Belén found herself asking out of curiosity.

 _"Too many to waste time on. You and I have a pending conversation before you meet the others and embed yourself here."_

"What is there to talk about? Am I in for lecture?"

 _"This battle between you and Datura must stop. Two botanical metahumans - sisters - must never fight each other."_

Belén's scoff was loud enough to echo through the endless forest. "I am _not_ her sister. And I didn't pick this fight - _she_ did. She crossed through worlds just to fight me."

 _"But you do not hate her-"_

"-no I hate her, a lot." Belén didn't know of the Green had actual eyes but just in case it did, she gave a sweet, sarcastic smile.

 _"You're scared, and that's okay. But Datura's not your enemy."_

Belén scoffed again. "Sure."

 _"Belén, I see the past, present and the future. I have seen how this fight between you and Datura ends, the sacrifices she will make in order for one of your friends to live, and I see the last choice you make in order to save the one you love most. You will each make the choices you never thought you would. Your life and Datura's are intertwined much more than you know. Polar opposites and yet...you work together._ "

Belén wanted to argue how wrong that was - she would _never_ work with Datura, _ever_ \- but a new realization struck her. Her eyes widened for a brief second before it narrowed on the enchanted forest. "You know who she is." Her tone was accusatory and with a bubbling anger that quickly made itself known across her face. "You know who Datura is."

 _"Indeed I do."_

Belén gave it a minute to say, but of course with her luck it never did. "Well, who is she!?"

 _"I never disclose the identities of my metahumans."_

"But she's not even a part of this place!"

 _"Whether or not I allow someone in here, I always uphold their secret identities."_

"So even if they're criminals they still get help, nice," Belén scowled. "If I knew who she was and I could figure out a way to stop her before she kills me."

 _"You you have many other resources to help you put a stop to Datura's wrath. I only need you to understand that you and Datura are intertwined for the long-run."_

"And what's that supposed to do for me? Apart from being nonsense."

 _"That you must be careful for your own safety. Her time will come, but you should be aware that it could be you instead."_

"Thanks," Belén muttered, though a good part of her did take the Green's words with caution.

 _"Now that you have listened, you may come and go as you please. You may discover the abilities denied to you in the beginning. The only requirement, my only rule, is that you never abuse the power of the Green. If you do, you will be banished from the Green."_

 _Like Poison Ivy_ , Belén thought. It was a strict rule, apparently but it was a sensible one. She would never think to use any abilities for evil.

~0~

From the cortex, the group had a constant watch of Belén in her greenhouse. Shivhan told them it could be hours before Belén returns.

"Well, the branches disappeared," Barry noted. He'd sat himself in front of the computer screen with the intention of staying there until Belén woke up. "Does that mean anything?"

"Yeah, the Green's done talking to her now."

"I don't understand," Cisco began from his seat. He'd propped both his feet up on the desk and had a half eaten twizzler in hos hand. "If she has to be like that-" he pointed to Belén's sitting position on the screen, "-isn't that just making her a target for anyone who wants to hurt her? Like, say I wanted to slap her right now - which I don't-" he added when Barry and Caitlin gave him simultaneous looks, "-but say that I did...what's stopping me from doing it?"

"This is the only time Belén will actually remain here while her consciousness is in the Green," Shivhan explained. "Next time Belén goes into the Green, her body will do so too. Only reason her body's here right now is because it's the first time and the Green always eases the trip for first-timers."

"Okay, makes sense," Cisco ate the last bit of his twizzler, seemingly moving on from the topic.

"What is she doing now, then?" came Barry's quiet question. Shivhan looked at the speedster and noticed his concern. "Is she okay?"

Shivna nodded her head, smiling kindly. "Believe me, the Green is the best, safest place Belén could be in right now. I imagine right now she's meeting other metas, beginning her training."

"But what _kind_ of training?" Barry had to ask and the moment he did, his tone was indication enough for Shivhan to realize what he was trying to get at.

"Guys," Shivhan laughed, confusing Cisco and Caitlin while irritating Barry. Was she not taking him serious?

"Did I miss a joke?" Cisco wondered.

"No," Caitlin quietly told him. She was aware of Barry's growing annoyance, she hoped Shivhan would answer his question already.

"Okay," Shivhan tucked her hair behind her ears then put her hands together, "I know I'm new to this group and that I am, by far, the most deviant-"

"Ah," Cisco raised a finger, "You and Harry are in the running; winner's still undetermined."

Shivhan rolled her eyes and continued like he hadn't said anything. "Belén has fought a lot, right? And with each fight, she's gotten stronger. You guys have got to give her some space so that she can explore her powers."

"I'm just afraid she'll get h-" but Barry wouldn't finish those words as Shivhan cut him off.

"-hurt? Yeah, I know, but guess what? She's the Azalea and she's bound to get hurt anyways. In fact, she probably _will_ get hurt. You gotta let her."

"I'm not gonna let her get hurt when I can stop it," Barry snapped, rising from his chair. "When I can protect her."

"Very sweet," Shivhan sarcastically pouted. Barry narrowed his eyes on the woman, but she didn't necessarily care. "But also overbearing. She's not always there to protect you, Barry, and the truth is you won't always be there to protect her. You can _try_ but it's impossible. The Green will push Belén, hard, but she will be better because of it. So, Barry, I don't know if she's okay...but I do know that she'll be better." Barry raised a hand as if trying to say he'd heard enough, but there was a weariness in his face that eased Shivhan's hardness. "Okay, I'm being excessive but...I do mean well."

"I know," Barry nodded. "It's just difficult because we don't know anything about the Green."

"But _I_ do," Shivhan put a hand over her chest. "Guys, I'm not a scientist but the Green? I know about it, trust me. And I owe Belén my life. I wouldn't have sent her there if she was going to get hurt."

"I believe you," Barry said and turned away. "But it's going to kill me having to wait for Belén to get out of there."

"Why don't you go out?" Caitlin suggested, though good-natured it did earn herself a look from Barry.

"And leave Belén alone here? Cait, I can't do that."

"What are we? Chopped liver?" Cisco waved his new twizzler in the air.

Caitlin made a gesture for Cisco to keep quiet. "We can keep an eye on Belén. And we'll call you the moment she comes back."

"I think Caitlin is right," Shivhan said. "Go, Barry. Go and distract yourself."

Barry knew they wouldn't give up on the idea, so he ultimately agreed and left. However, he didn't really have any place he needed to go to. In fact, if there was a place he needed to go back to it would be STAR Labs. But if he went back there, he was 99.9% sure Shivhan would personally kick his ass out. She was _so_ different from the team - even Harry - and it actually worked, in a way.

It did, however, make things a bit more difficult...like right now.

"Hi," Iris tilted her head as as the speedster made his way into their home. She sat on the couch, laptop in her lap, when Barry came into the living room. "What are...you doing here?"

"Distracting myself," Barry answered honestly. He let himself fall into the couch chair, practically sank into it.

"What is going on?" Iris was at a cross between laughing at his unusual actions or being concerned something happened and she was yet to know about it.

"Belén finally accessed the Green," Barry said, waving a hand as a gesture.

Iris beamed at the news. "Oh, that's great! She's been trying for weeks now!"

"Yeah, now the problem is I'm stuck waiting for her to come back."

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"Because...I just...I get worried, okay?"

Iris rolled her eyes, even shaking her head afterwards. "Dude, you are so helplessly in love it's almost laughable."

"It's not funny," frowned Barry. "I'm just worried. She's in a new place and there's no one to help her in case she gets into trouble."

"Belén's a big girl, she can take care of herself," Iris closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table.

"I know, I know," Barry let one of his hands cover his eyes. "I heard it, I understand it, I know it. And I believe it...it's just hard getting through these hours."

"What are you going to do when she's on some, like, trip or something? And she has to be away for days or weeks?" Iris was now very close to laughing when she saw Barry's horrified reaction to her question. "You are truly a love-struck puppy."

"It's really not funny."

"It really is."

A door knock interrupted their conversation. Iris got up to answer it and found her brother, Wally, on the other side.

"Come on in," she let him walk in then shut the door behind him. "Dad's getting ready upstairs." She called up to the second floor, "Hey Dad! Wally's here!"

Wally nodded and headed for the living room when he saw Barry. "Hey..."

Barry awkwardly waved a hand. He didn't really know how to act around Wally yet, and he felt it was the same story for Wally.

"Don't mind him, he's having a breakdown cos his girlfriend's away," Iris was all too happy to inform. She ignored Barry's momentary glare as she returned to her seat.

"You have a girlfriend?" Wally then asked. He didn't really know much about Barry - it was probably next to nothing.

"Yeah, uh, I'll introduce you guys when she gets back," Barry sat up in his chair then threw Iris another glare.

"Belén works with me at CC Pictures," Iris, once again, ignored Barry's glare and went on with her day.

"Oh, cool," Wally put his hands into his jacket's pocket. He wouldn't have to endure much more awkwardness since Joe came down the stairs a few seconds later.

"Hey Wally, ready to go?" Joe asked, looking very much excited.

"Oh yeah. I can't believe you got tickets for the game," Wally was eager to get going and so he started for the doors.

"Came as a surprise, honestly," Joe followed him while waving goodbye to Iris and Barry. Their conversation drifted as they left the house.

"Where are they going?" Barry asked Iris once they were alone again.

"Oh some baseball game," Iris shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"You don't look so happy about it," Barry noticed her grim expression. She was upset and concerned, which seemed out of place considering all she and Joe wanted to do was get closer to Wally.

"I _am_ ," she said, though it sounded like a weak attempt at convincing him. "It's just...I don't know, I feel like Dad is trying to be more like...Wally's _friend_ rather than what he actually is...his _dad_."

"Well, maybe Joe's just trying to ease Wally into that fact. I do speak from experience, you know," Barry gestured at himself as the prime example. He remembered how Joe would try to buddy up with him when he'd first came to live with the Wests. He tried being the cool guardian, which did kind of work to be honest.

"Yeah, but you were a kid and besides...he was your guardian back then. He wasn't _supposed_ to be acting like a Dad."

"Iris, ease up. I think right now Joe is very aware that he's missed out on Wally's entire life. You can't expect him to go full on Dad-mode when they'd only just met."

"But he needs to be, at some point," Iris nearly snapped. How could he not be understanding? "Because if he starts acting like a friend, then that's all Wally's ever going to see him as. And if that's what he sees Dad as...could you imagine what kind of trouble Wally would get himself into without the right supervision?"

"Alright, I get your point," Barry admitted. Although he didn't know what kind of trouble Wally would get himself into considering he didn't know much about the young man in the first place. "Maybe talk to Joe about it."

"Believe me, I want to but I'm trying to find the right moment and words. He's just so happy that Wally's letting him be in his life."

"You'll come up with something," Barry assured.

~0~

Belén had been left to wander through the Green as she pleased, but only five minutes after that...she realized the entire place really was a forest. And despite not knowing where she was going, she felt an endless peacefulness around her. Here, there were no problems plaguing her. If only she could bring the rest of her family here - but that was a rule, apparently. Only botanical metahumans were allowed in the Green.

Just as she stepped over a branch, she heard a gurgling from the lake on her left. She immediately turned her body towards the crystal blue lake and saw its contents swirling a brown-green. "What the hell-"

"-hi!" piped a voice from behind, making Belén gasp and whirl around to come face to face with a dark-haired woman. They could've pressed noses from how close they were.

"Ah!" Belén jumped back, but she didn't have time to process the woman's presence because of what was gurgling underneath the lake.

She totally lost it when a large creature burst from the lake, splashing her and the other woman in the process. Her scream echoed.

"It's okay, it's okay!" the woman behind Belén tried to say, but Belén's eyes were glued to the creature that resembled a mesh of trees and vines. "Listen to me - it's okay! We're the good guys, remember?"

Belén's screams only faded because she was already tired from her wandering. "What the...what is _that_!?" she pointed at the creature slowly coming out of the lake.

"I am Swamp Thing," the creature promptly responded, making her eyes widen even more. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm Rose Red," the woman then introduced herself. "And he's right. We didn't mean to scare you."

"I...I don't know how to...take this all in," Belén made a weak gesture at the two strangers and backed up a couple steps.

"We get it," Rose Red nodded her head and looked at Swamp Thing behind her.

Belén couldn't help stare at them since she knew nothing of them. Rose Red was a petite woman with long, curly black hair and matching dark eyes. She wore a one-suit in the shade of navy with a brilliant red pattern on her abdominal side. There was a scarlet red mask covering her eyes.

Swamp Thing, the more Belén stared, wasn't actually as large as a monster (like she first considered him to be). He was human-size but seemed burlier due to his body being made out of trees and vines and whatever else might be in there. His eyes were a bit prominent and that was only because they had a shade of red.

"I-I-I'm Belén...um...Azalea - um..." Belén didn't know why she was stammering so much, but the other two seemed to understand her. "I'm sorry, do we use real names here? Well, I guess it doesn't matter since I already gave you my name-"

"-you're nervous," Rose Red smiled. "And that's okay."

"No, it's really not," Belén shook her head. "I don't have time to be nervous. I'm dealing with-"

"-Datura," Rose Red finished, her smile fading a bit. Swamp Thing visibly groaned. Rose Red's smile finally flattened. "We, uh...everyone in the Green knows."

"Great, so...everyone knows that she's kicking my ass," sighed Belén. That's what she needed, alright.

" _No_ ," Rose Red's tone went sharp all of a sudden, "We know that Datura is continuously misusing her botanical abilities and needs to be stopped. You are the only one who's lived through her wrath. Everyone else who's come in contact with Datura has died."

Belén gulped. "Well...it hasn't been easy..."

"You are strong," Swamp Thing stated. "It is why Datura detests you. It is also why you need to continue to train."

"And why we are here to help you," Rose Red said, her smile already back on her face. Belén wondered if her face hurt after so many of those smiles. "The Green has chosen us to begin training you. But really, you already know so much...we're just here to help you strengthen it. We've already covered expanding your plant matter into bolts and other weapons, but there's still a lot you can learn. So, are you in?"

"Hell yeah," Belén nodded fast. "Where do we start?"

~ 0 ~

"What are you doing?" Cisco's voice startled the hell out of Harry, which was saying something considering he was never scared. But this time, Cisco had caught the man lingering around Barry's and Belén's suits. Of course Cisco didn't really take anything from it, he was just asking a simple question. How could he know that Harry had just implanted the very device that would suck Barry's speed little by little.

How could Cisco know that?

"Nothing, just like everyone else here," Harry promptly snapped.

"Ouch," Cisco let himself fall into one of the desk chairs. He immediately set eyes on the computers still showing them a constant video of Belén in the greenhouse. Nothing had changed after hours. "We're doing something alright. We're keeping an eye on our friend who's in some other world right now."

"What?" Harry walked up to the desk.

"Belén's in the Green now. She's been in there for hours."

"...she's in the Green?"

Cisco looked up from the screen to see Harry's paled face. That was strange, even for him. "Yeah. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Harry moved around the desk so he could see for himself. Belén was still sitting in her zen position, eyes closed and very much out of tune with reality. If she was truly in the Green, it was something Datura would want to know...

But he didn't want to say.

"It's kind of boring, to be honest," Cisco started saying, not that Harry was listening very well, "Caitlin and Jay took a shift then Shivhan and now...lucky me. Still, I'm hoping Bells comes out with some super cool moves or something."

"Yeah," Harry said fast before turning to leave. He ignored Cisco's calls as he went into the corridors. He had done with Zoom wanted because _he_ was the one with the power to return Jesse to him. He only listened to Datura because right now, she was the caretaker of his daughter. But if he did good on his deal with Zoom, then that would be it. He would get Jesse back and this would be over. Screw Datura. If Belén actually became stronger, then Datura would _end_ and that'd be it for that part of the nightmare.

~ 0 ~

Belén's yelp echoed through the forest after narrowly dodging one of Swamp Thing's punches - which extended the branches and vines towards her - and landing on her back.

"Okay, some pointers," Rose Red came up beside Belén, missing Belén rolling her eyes in annoyance. "You're trying to fight back with your own powers-"

"-yeah, what else am I supposed to do?" Belén groaned as she got back on her feet.

"Use my own powers against me," Swamp Thing said.

Belén wished he had more of an identifiable face to glare at. "How the hell would that make sense when you're literally vines and branches? And leaves?"

"You know one thing about you, Azalea," Rose Red tapped Belén's shoulder, making the woman turn around, "is that you always like to play peek-a-boo with your enemies. You love to swing with your vines, so...why not use that?"

"First," Belén raised a finger, "How the hell do you know that? And second of all-" she raised two fingers, "-how would I do that?"

"The Green told us some things about you and...we follow your work at CC Pictures," Rose Red said like it should've been obvious and just as Belén was about to ask her how the hell they knew about her job, Rose Red turned Belén back to Swamp Thing. "Now take a minute and really study Swamp Thing's abilities. We'll start in 30 seconds."

Belén's eyes widened. "In 30 sec-"

"-and go, Swamp Thing!"

"You said 30 seconds!" Belén exclaimed but Rose Red just laughed.

"Sorry, I meant 5."

Before Belén could angrily say something more, she had jump out of the way before she was squashed into a pancake by one of Swamp Thing's vines. He was able to conjure up really thick vines that were twice her size and width. Of course it was only because of his incredible strength. With that kind of strength, she could squash Datura into a bug.

 _Focus Belén!_ She drew in a deep breath then ran through the clearing while actively avoiding the vines after her. She then made a swift turn with an arm ready to swipe an incoming vine. Doing as Rose Red had advised, Belén watched Swamp Thing and his attacks. One prominent move was to throw his arm forwards and let the vines and branches extend towards the victim - in this case Belén, she gulped - in an attempt to trap them.

Belén smirked. She got it.

Swamp Thing came at her with the same move and unlike before, instead of dodging it she ran _towards_ it.

Rose Red smiled proudly from the side.

Belén jumped just as Swamp Thing's vines and branches smashed to the ground then she ran _over_ the vines and branches until it led her to Swamp Thing's body. She put her hands together as if it were a sword and brought them down over Swamp Thing's head. Due to the masses surrounding his head, he felt nothing but the point was Belén had finally gotten the use of the strategy.

"Yes!" Rose Red clapped fervently from her spot.

"Ah!" Belén yelped when Swamp Thing picked her off his head like she was a mere bug but he gently put her down on the ground, on her feet.

"You understood," Swamp Thing sent the woman a smile. "When Datura uses her powers, use them against her."

"I like the idea but the problem is she's a siphoner. She has multiple, and I mean _multiple,_ powers. How do I use, say, lightning against her? I can't even do that with my boyfriend."

"You know the thing about having an enemy is you don't have to fight them alone," Swamp Thing replied. "Use that boyfriend for the lightning. He may be able to super charge you or knock Datura down on her ass."

"Either way, we're sure you'd be content," Rose Red laughed.

"Yes," agreed Belén. "So, what else we got?"

"Well," Rose Red stepped forwards with her hands behind her back, "You can let me train you now."

"Okay, what exactly are we doing?"

"You've done the action part with Swamp Thing, now I want you to focus on the more docile part of your powers."

"How is that going to help me?" Belén genuinely wondered since Datura was a, well, murderer who wouldn't go down with 'docile' powers.

"Going deeper into your docile powers is the first step into turning them into...not so docile powers," Rose Red's smirk was promising. Her eyes flickered to Swamp Thing behind Belén. "Go collect the others."

"Wh-what 'others'?" Belén turned quick to see Swamp Thing walking away from them - more like stomping - to go in search of those 'others'. "What are we doing?"

"After we're done here, I want to attempt for you to do the ultimate ability the Green has to offer to us," Rose Red turned Belén back to her. "But right now, let's focus on those docile powers."

"Alright," Belén shrugged.

"So you understand that you own the power of Chlorokinesis, right?" Rose Red wouldn't move on until Belén nodded her head. "That means you can manipulate an control wood, vines, plants, moss, parts of plants, even fruits and vegetables already growing on said plants."

"I'll be honest, I've never really tried to control moss or the fruits and vegetables. I guess I've always gone for the big stuff, you know? Like the vines?"

"Because they're the most effective," Rose Red understood. "But it doesn't mean these others abilities aren't just as effective. For example, moss is actually quite dangerous since it releases certain toxins that non-botanical metahumans can't handle."

"I didn't know that, actually," Belén admitted in a flush of embarrassment. "I mean, I've been trying to read up on books that have to do with botany but let's be honest I'm not a scientist. There's just some terms I don't really understand and so... I guess I'm missing out on important information like this."

Rose Red smiled. "Belén, no one here is going to judge you on what you know and don't know. Lots of us, if not most of us, are not scientists either. What we've learned, what we are learning, all comes from experience. It's usually the experiences from others. For example," Rose Red walked up to a bush nearby, "I didn't know I could make apples grow until another meta told me the properties to make it so." She gently turned her palm upwards and created several bright red apples on the bush.

"Wow, I... don't know how to do that," Belén sighed.

Rose Red turned back to her student with another kind smile. "I get the feeling that you feel overshadowed by the people around you." Belén opened her mouth as if to argue against it but her lowering gaze contradicted her intended stance. "You're the Azalea, one of the most prominent botanical metahumans on our Earth."

"I'm not...in the whole world…" Belén felt ridiculous even having to argue against it. It couldn't be true. "Central City just got to know me a year ago."

"The Green knows," Rose Red declared, startling Belén with her certainty. "The Green sees the future, remember? You are one of metas that goes down in history. You create something, Belén, and the only way that can happen is if you start letting go of those negative feelings about yourself."

"I don't…" Belén shook her head, but Rose Red cut her off.

"Tell me about the people you work with. The scientists around you, because I assume there have to be in order for you to want to read up on all this scientific terms on botany."

"Isn't that sort of a waste of time-"

"-absolutely not. If you want to have a good hold on your powers, and introduce your body to a new powers, then you have to be willing in all senses. And for that to happen, you cannot have these negative things about yourself. So, tell me who you work with. What do they do?"

Belén sighed. There was no getting out of it. "I mean...I guess I start with my boyfriend?" Rose Red nodded and gestured her to keep going. With another sigh, Belén obeyed. "Okay. Well, he's really smart. Like, stupid smart. All the things I don't know, he knows. He gets things that I don't. And, you probably already know that he's also the Flash?"

"Yes," Rose Red smiled for another moment. "The, uh, Green doesn't really like the Speedforce. Says it's a bit smug and condescending."

"Really?" Belén nearly laughed at the irony. Rose Red would agree with her if the Green didn't have ears everywhere.

"So, what about your friends? What are they? What do they do?"

"They're basically like Barry. There's Cisco, he's an engineer and Uber smart. There's Caitlin - Dr. Snow - and she's a bio-engineer. And just to show you how different we are, to this day, I still don't know what that even means."

"Alright, do you have connections with people on the high ends of careers," Rose Red nodded to herself. "Nice one, sister." Belén honestly couldn't help the smile that'd come to her face. "Anyone else?"

"There's my Mom, she's a cop. And then Iris, she's a journalist like me."

"Okay, so I assume you get along easier with Iris, then?"

"Will you would think that, right? But... I don't know, sometimes I feel like there's just some things that even though I can share with Iris she won't really understand me. But then it's the same story if I go to, say,, Caitlin? She doesn't have power so they don't really understand me in that sense. But then I guess Iris does really give me that sense of normality in my life? I go to work with her, I get to work _with_ her."

"I get it, I do," Rose Red nodded again. "The way I like to think about it is that each friend offers you a different type of support that you need. For example, as you said, Iris gives you the support of having a regular life besides your botany side. And as each of them give you that support, you can see that these people are just like you. You are all good in your own way, and I really want you to understand that because I get the feeling that this isn't the first time someone's talk to you about this…right?"

Belén shook her head. "There's been my Dad, and, most recently Barry. they say there's no one like me in the world. But, I mean, I'm not really that type of special right? It doesn't mean that I have low self-esteem but... I can't put myself on the top tier by putting those thoughts into my head."

"And why not?"

Belén was startled by the question. Rose Red leaned on one hip and gave her a straight face. "What?"

"Why can't you put yourself on the top tier? Why can't you say you're the best?"

"Because that's narcissistic?"

"No it's not. it's okay to own up to your skills and your abilities. There's nothing wrong with feeling annoying that you are good."

"You know, that's almost exactly what Shivhan told me," Belén said after some thought. "It just feels weird."

"But there's nothing wrong with it. So please, before we go any further, remember that. You're good."

"Okay," Belén nodded. "I'm...good…"

"Awesome! And as soon as you start believing that, things will get easier for you. Now here's another question, did you know you could rearrange DNA structure in plants? You could mutate plants if you know what you're doing."

"I...did not."

"What about releasing toxins?"

"Yes, bit up until now I've only done from an Azalea."

"And the release of pheromones?"

That one seriously angered Belén because it reminded her when Poison Ivy used it on Barry. "That one!" she pointed at Rose Red. "I want to learn that one!"

Rose Red's eyebrows knitted together in confusion until she too remembered Belén's opponents. "Let me guess, Poison Ivy used it?" Belén nodded. "On that boyfriend?" Belén crossed her arms with a huff. "Alright. Let's start then."

~0~

"What's that alarm?" Caitlin asked Cisco as soon as she and Jay hurried into the cortex.

"We've got a meta on the loose, what else?" Cisco was working the computers as fast as he could to pinpoint the meta's location and figure out who it was.

"Let's call Barry now," Jay suggested but Cisco waved him off.

"Nah, it's probably some local petty thief. We told Barry to take the day off. We can get Shivhan or Nina." But then Cisco froze altogether.

"Would someone please shut that thing up?" Harry walked into the cortex looking all too annoyed with the blaring alarm. He never understood their need to be this dramatic over a metahuman.

"Caitlin," Cisco said calmly, though there was a growing panic in his voice. "Call Barry."

"But I thought you just said-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what I said but that was before Zoom knocked on our front door."

"What!?" Caitlin exclaimed, nearly pulling Cisco out of his seat to take it herself.

Cisco wildly gestured at the computer screen showing them the security feed of the outside of STAR Labs. Sure enough, there was the black-suited meta.

"Is he waving at us?" Jay tilted his head.

"Call Barry now!" Caitlin was the one to order.

Cisco fervently nodded. "Yup, on it!"

"Why is he here?" Caitlin looked at Jay and Harry as if they had the answer.

And you know what, maybe they did…

Harry's eyes flickered to Barry's suit where his speed-sucking device remained undetected behind the suit's ember.

"You think he knows about Belén in the Green?" Caitlin came up with her own theory, but Jay shook his head.

"That would imply he actually cares about Datura and we all know that's not true."

~0~

When Barry got the call that Zoom was standing right outside STAR Labs, he left in a literal...zoom. At least that's what Iris would use to describe it but she would never use the description out loud. All Barry knew was that there was an evil monster right outside the building where Belén was unconscious and unaware.

He met Zoom right where the latter wanted him. Just the sight of Zoom put Barry on edge. The last time he'd face Zoom ended with his spinal cord being snapped. Barry wasn't interested in a repeat.

"It's been a while, huh?" Zoom said as if he'd been reading Barry's mind this whole time. "Thought I'd come in and see how you were doing." Or maybe he just stopped by to commence his plan of stealing Barry's speed.

"Get out," Barry ordered.

"How about I go and decide what street gets to live, and what street doesn't?" Zoom tilted his head, giving him the appearance of a creepy ragdoll one would see in Halloween. His demonic eyes didn't help the situation.

Before Barry could say anything, Zoom disappeared with a trail of blue lightning behind him. Barry knew it was a taunt, a game, but the seconds he spent thinking of _not_ chasing after Zoom didn't even register in his head. All he thought was... _go_.

And so he went.

"Barry?" called Cisco twice through the comms. and received no such answer. "Duuuude, what are you doing?"

"He's following Zoom, what else?" Caitlin shook her head and took a seat beside him. "Barry, you have to know that this is just a game to him, right? Zoom clearly just wants to rile you up."

Still, Barry didn't answer. He zipped after Zoom, going from one street to the next. There was no stopping and there was certainly no catching up the black-suited meta. It definitely did rile him up, just like Zoom wanted.

And from his own room in the lab, Harry monitored his speed device. It was also doing its job, just as he meant it to.

"Yoo hoo!" Datura's face suddenly appeared right in front of a STAR Labs camera, upside down of course. It definitely got the collective screams of the group in the cortex. "I'm sure the lot of you just screamed - really wish this camera was a two-way thing - and now you're realizing that you're _screwed_." Her sinister smile was more than terrifying. "Barry's off chasing a speedster he'll never catch and Belén is off in Green La-Land." Her smile dropped in one second flat. "You're all _mine_." She punched the camera with a fist, ending the transmission.

"Oh snap," Cisco turned his chair to face the others. "Are we dead or are we dead?"

Caitlin and Jay glared in the same manner.

Cisco cleared his throat then turned his chair to the desk again and activated the comms. "Barry? Yo, Barry? If you could please put a pause on chasing Zoom, that'd be gr-" but the power went out, leaving them in darkness.

"She cut off the power," Jay looked up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, kind of noticed that," Cisco groaned and pushed himself out of his seat.

"Where are you going?" Caitlin asked when he started heading out.

"Where else? To get Belén!"

"But she's in the Green - Shivhan said we can't wake her up! She won't hear anything!"

Cisco stopped under the threshold and huffed. "Then what else am I supposed to do?"

The three heard the elevator dinging as it approached their floor.

"For now, let's just run!" Jay grabbed Caitlin's hand and ran out, pulling Cisco with them.

Datura stepped out of the elevator with the smuggest smile. She hummed as she walked down the hallway, her being the only light as they glimmered different colors. "No one to save you nooooow. You're all going to die, especially Belén."

~ 0 ~

Barry came to a skidded stop in a lonesome wood clearing. Zoom stood across but as the minutes went by, he said nothing. Barry couldn't take it. "What the hell do you want from me!?"

"What I want, I'm already taking it," Zoom said. Because somewhere he knew Harry was monitoring everything, watching how the speedforce slowly left Barry's body. "It's a work in progress." Barry clenched his fists and stepped towards him. But a second later, Zoom zipped up and grabbed him by the neck. "You really think, you have a chance against me? I suppose Earth 1 people are far too optimistic. I'll take care of that soon enough."

Barry glared. He let a rush of electricity rush up to one of his fists and used it to deliver quite a punch against Zoom's demon face. Soon as Zoom let him go, Barry went for a few more punches - finally releasing some of that anger and fear - before summoning up enough electricity for one clear thunder bolt. There was a strange rush that Barry felt seeing Zoom's body be thrown across the clearing.

Zoom slowly rose from the ground, though there was a hint of a stagger in the first few seconds. "You can throw all the punches, all the thunder bolts...but it won't matter. I will still win, because I am _better_. Watch." He took off, but Barry was right on his trail once again.

~ 0 ~

"Wait!" Cisco pulled his hand from Jay's grip, forcing him and Caitlin to stop. "We can't just go hide in the pipeline! What about Belén? Datura will have an easy murder on her hands!"

"Shivhan said that wouldn't happen," Jay reminded. "The Green will protect her."

"Yeah, man, I just don't feel good about leaving her body out in the open like that! Cait?"

Caitlin bit her lower lip and exchanged glances with Jay. "I mean...Cisco's right. Even if the Green is protecting Belén, we can't just leave her body like that. One never knows what could happen."

"Alright fine, but let's get some weapons first!" Jay decided and motioned Cisco to lead the way to the workshop.

~ 0 ~

"Pollen is actually very close to the pheromone technique that Poison Ivy uses," Rose Red was explaining while she watched Belén blow pollen in and out of her mouth. "You first master the pollen and then you can control pheromones as you please. It looks like you're getting it."

"This is child's play," Belén said without meaning to sound condescending. "I mean...I'm grateful for the proper training but-"

"I get it," Rose Red chuckled. "There are some abilities that just come naturally to each botanical meta. Pollen seems to be one of yours. You know if you get really good at it, you could mutate plants through the mutation of pollen."

"Sounds complicated," Belén said with widened eyes that had Rose Red laughing again.

" _Belén_ ," they suddenly heard the Green's voice.

Belén visibly frowned. "Are we doing another lecture again?"

" _Your immediate environment in your world is in danger. I will keep you safe but I cannot say the same for your friends."_

"What?" Belén crossed glances with Rose Red, both confused. "What are you talking about? What's happening to my friends?"

" _Datura has gotten into your facility and is threatening to kill you and those still inside."_

"What? But Barry's there, or Shivhan, but..."

" _No other metahuman who can stop her is there. It is your choice if you want to return, I only fulfill my duty to inform you of what's happening outside."_

"She just doesn't give up," Belén muttered.

"She knows you're in the Green," Rose Red said after a moment's thought. "Why else would she be suddenly attacking so coincidentally?"

"Because she's evil?"

"And smart," Rose Red pointed at her, "Don't forget that. She truly _is_ smart. Nothing she does is unplanned. Good luck."

"You tell Swamp Thing I want that rematch," Belén warned. "Though I'm a bit bummed I won't see what he was coming back with."

"Next time," Rose Red promised. "Get going."

Belén nodded.

~ 0 ~

Datura continued to hum a tune - a 1950s tune that she loved - and walked down the hallway. "I can smell you, you know," she called to the trio. "Humans give off specific scents and with my abilities I can enhance an individual's scent. And you know what I smell?" she stepped into the workshop. " _Fear_."

"Yo, psycho!" Cisco suddenly jumped up from a table and shot Datura with one of their energy guns.

Datura yelled as she was blasted out of the room, her back slamming against the wall.

"Let's go!" Cisco then called to Caitlin and Jay. They strategically ran out of the workshop and headed in the opposite direction of Belén's greenhouse.

"You sure she's going to follow us!?" Caitlin exclaimed.

"We just shot her pride - she's coming!" Jay was sure of it.

They purposely waited inside the elevator until they could see Datura coming and then simultaneously waved at her before closing the doors. With her loud yell, they were absolutely sure she would be following them.

"Can we get ahold of Barry now!?" Caitlin said as soon as they were outside.

"Comms are still down," Cisco shrugged and put his gun over his shoulder. "And I doubt Harry can get them back working so quickly!"

"Spoilers, he doesn't," Datura emerged from the same doorway they'd come out from. She smirked. "Shall we play?" she raised her hands and let them glow in a scarlet red. But just as she was drawing her arms back, thick green vines entangled them.

"I'm game!" Belén yanked her backwards, enjoying the loud cry the Earth 2 gave in the process.

"You're back!" Cisco, Caitlin and Jay chorused happily.

"Where's Barry!?"

"Chasing Zoom!"

"And the power!?"

"Harry's working on it!"

Belén turned to Datura and set her hands on her hips. "You really can't help yourself, can you?"

Datura sat upright and scowled at her doppelganger. "Oh, are we feeling brave because you got into the Green?"

"I'd be lying if I said 'no'." Belén smirked swung her arm to release plant-matter in the shapes of knives.

Datura's eyes widened and quickly rolled to the side to avoid getting hit. "You were about to stab me!?"

"Oh calm down, I would've treated you eventually!"

Datura growled with golden eyes. The ground rumbled under their feet, cracking as Datura rose to her feet.

"Don't even try it!" Belén extended her arms and shot plant bolts directly at the woman, hitting her square in the chest. Once more, Datura tumbled to the ground. Belén's skin turned scaly green fast as she continued to shoot the bolts. Datura growled again as she tried fighting off the bolts that pricked her exposed skin and expanded. For a brief second, Belén swore she saw actual fear in Datura's eyes as one of the plant bolts expanded on her cheek, near her eye.

However, something - someone - sped past Belén and knocked her back towards the trio. Before colliding with them, however, Barry swept her away and safely put her down on the ground. "Are you okay!?" he quickly asked her.

She nodded and threw a glare in Datura's way. The Earth 2 meta was struggling to stand on her feet with all the expanded plant matter over her body. It wasn't until Zoom returned and grabbed her by the neck, forcing her up. "You didn't follow through."

Datura gasped as he squeezed her neck. "I can't..."

"No matter," he let her drop like a doll and turned sideways towards the group, "I got what I need for tonight. Until next time, Barry." He grabbed Datura's arm and disappeared with her.

~ 0 ~

"Took you long enough to get that power back," Cisco was quick to reproach Harry once the man returned to the cortex.

"You're welcome, by the way!"

"Thanks Harry," Belén said. STAR Labs had regained its power half an hour after Datura's visit. "I can't believe Datura showed up again."

"I can," Barry muttered. "It's clear she and Zoom were playing us both. And they really were just _playing_ because Zoom did nothing except taunt me."

"We'll just have to live with that part of being heroes," Belén shook her head. "At least I got to scare the crap out of Datura for once. The Green helped me this time and it showed. She was genuinely afraid for a split moment."

"Good," went Cisco with a deep scowl. "Scare her more the next time."

"We're glad everyone's okay," Caitlin said in hopes of moving them towards the more important parts. "Bells, how did you know we were in trouble?"

"The Green told me," Belén smiled when she answered. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and explained how the Green warned her Datura was trying to hurt them. "I wish you guys could see it - the Green is so beautiful. Shivhan was right. It's breathtaking. And I met more botanical metas - Rose Red and Swamp Thing."

"Wicked names," Cisco had to admit. "Might look them up later on."

"They're amazing and they're already teaching so many new things. I'm gonna be in the Green a lot more often now."

"We're happy that you finally found a place for yourself, Bells," Barry put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side. At least something had gone right, because every time Barry thought of Zoom he remembered the meta's taunting words.

" _What I want, I'm already taking it._ "

What could Zoom have meant by that?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

How's about that Green? I, of course, had to go in and do my own thing like adding 'Red Rose' and 'Swamp Thing' which are both real characters (as you probably already know). What that means is that I've altered things like Red Rose's original age.

And what about all the things the Green said about Belén and Datura? Lots to think about huh ;)

 **P. S** : I have created a **tumblr** **account** dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I'll probably drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	18. The Finest Woman of the Hour

I-Ivy!"

Poison Ivy turned from her mirror in time to see her partner coming in with wobbly feet. For the first time there was a clear fear in Datura's face and Poison Ivy soon realized why.

With a shaky hand, Datura touched the skin above her lip and stared at her gloved-fingers stained with red. "It's hurting, and worse than before."

Poison Ivy came striding up to her and pulled her to her vanity desk. "Not on my watch. Time is ours, lovely, don't you remember?"

"It's progressing, can't you see!?" Datura stated at herself in the mirror. Her face, while young and lovely, had blood oozing from her nose. Her face was beginning to pale despite her best attempts to keep getting sun and nutrition. "And that stupid doppleganger of mine has only gotten stronger."

"Then I guess it's time for our final battle," Poison Ivy's lips curled into a smile.

"Final?"

"Yes," Poison Ivy put her hands on Datura's shoulders. "Today's the day we get the doppelganger and get that cure."

~ 0 ~

The wind was strong in the STAR Labs' plane field when it had two botanical metahumans performing the same tactic. Belén and Shivhan both surfed on their own respective matter of vines. The criss-crossed around each other and attempted to knock one out. Belén swung an arm to the side, releasing a wave of sharp petals at Shivhan. Shivhan crossed her arms together to create a shield, but when she did Belén purposely made her vines disappear. She dropped to the ground but landed gracefully on her feet.

Just as Shivhan's shield disappeared, Belén released a shower of roses that exploded in mid-air, knocking Shivhan off her matter. Of course, before she would hit the ground Belén created a flower bed to cushion Shivhan's fall.

Shivhan landed with a 'puff' and laughed as she spread her arms over the flowers. "You've definitely been training with the Green."

Belén beamed. "You could tell?"

Shivhan sat upright and nodded her head. "Oh yeah! You're getting better at this!"

"That's so good to hear!" Belén clapped happily. She'd been working so hard ever since she managed to get into the Green. Rose Red had become her number one teacher, often joined by Swamp Thing, but Belén felt like she truly making good progress on her powers as well as the new abilities she was learning.

"I think we can stop here," Shivhan said after getting up.

"Yeah," Belén agreed. "I have lunch plans today and I cannot be late!"

"Another date?" Shivhan crinkled her nose, making Belén laugh.

"Not quite. I'm finally meeting Iris' brother, Wally. Gotta make a good impression so...bye!" Belén did a quick wave before letting her vines entangle around her body to take her away.

~ 0 ~

Iris had chosen a small Italian restaurant for their lunch plans. She and Wally were already waiting in one of the outside tables when Belén and Barry arrived.

"Oh, I love this place," Belén said giddily as they made their way to the table. "È delizioso!"

"Glad you guys are here," Iris said. "Wally, this is my friend Belén."

Wally gave an awkward smile as he shook hands with Belén. "Hey..."

"Hi, it's nice to officially meet you," Belén smiled as she sat down with Barry. "Although I bet you're kind of tired of meeting so many new people, huh?"

"I haven't met that many," Wally said. "Just the necessary people."

"Oh, then I guess I'm grateful for being deemed 'necessary'," Belén chuckled, although she started to wonder if she was being to cheerful. She looked to Barry to see what he was doing.

Barry was just smiling at her, probably thinking she was just being her normal self. He reached for her hand on the table and looked at Wally. "She is someone very important to this family."

"You guys are really making me blush," Belén said and did her best not to sound nor look that awkward. "Wally, how close are you to graduating from college?" she asked in an attempt to switch topics. She didn't want this to turn into something about her because right now Belén really wanted to focus on other people. She'd done enough wallowing in pain thanks to Datura, losing time of her life because of Datura, so Belén endeavored to make a change.

"Uh, about a year left," Wally gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"And what are you studying again?"

"I'm an engineer major."

"Oh," Belén blinked. Everyone noticed how her smile seemed to fade away slowly.

Wally turned his head to his sister, silently asking if he'd said something he shouldn't have. Iris had a fair idea what it was, as well as Barry, but neither wanted to say anything until Belén did.

"Sorry, um," Belén seemed to snap out of her trance a few minutes later, "My, uh, my brother...he was...he was an engineer...at one point..." She released a sigh and shook her head. "I'm so sorry. My brother...died...last year."

"I'm...sorry," Wally could only say, but Belén shook her head once again.

"Don't be...we really weren't that close anymore." Belén knew how true that was but perhaps the pain it brought was one of the reasons she barely spared Rayan a thought anymore. It was easier than remembering he wanted to kill her towards the end of his life. "I'm so sorry - that is the worst thing to bring up at a lunch. I'm going to be honest, I haven't really done this whole-" her hand made a whirling motion in front of her, "-meeting your boyfriend's family thing...in a while."

"Belén, _breathe_ ," Barry sharply instructed.

"I'm sorry, I'm being weird," Belén apologetically smiled at Wally. By now he must be thinking she's insane. "Wally, you seem very nice and you have your sister's determination glint in your eyes. And it's truly very nice to meet you."

Wally could appreciate that honesty. It made him smile and that was what let Belén relax a bit. Maybe she could still pull off not being so weird...

~ 0 ~

Veronica stopped by Joe's desk to leave a file from their latest care. "Alright, here's the evidence we've got. Although there's not much to do seeing as the person literally looked like a volcano threw up on him."

Joe suppressed his chuckle while Veronica went to take a seat in what used to be Patty Spivot's desk. Patty had long departed to finally continue her studies to become a forensics now that Mark Mardon was behind bars, and so Veronica was now officially Joe's newest partner. While Joe did really come to like Patty, he thought it would be refreshing to have a partner who was already immersed into the metahuman world. It would definitely save him the trouble of coming up with excuses for his radical disappearances and 'odd' cases.

"So," Veronica briefly looked up from her paperwork, unknowingly bringing Joe out of his thoughts, "I assume someone will bring this case to STAR Labs' attention?"

"Uh yeah, usually Barry…" joe straightened up in his chair.

Veronica raised an eyebrow and noticed that Joe wasn't really looking at anything in particular, not even her since they were conversing. "I know we don't know each other all that well but now that we're both partners and...well, both of us have kids in this...meta world...can I ask if there's anything bothering you?"

Joe suddenly chuckled. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

"I know enough to know that it's probably not easy building a relationship with an estranged child after their other parent died -oh wait," Veronica put her hands together on her desk and smiled. "I do."

"Alright, you got me there," Joe shrugged.

"I didn't meet Wally very well, but he seems a bit...out of place?"

"Believe me we're all out of place. I just...Iris - she keeps telling me that I'm not...being a father...to Wally but I'm really trying to take baby steps, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Veronica nodded. "My eldest daughter, Maritza, was the one to make me realize that I was overwhelming Belén in the beginning. Of course I didn't learn my lesson the first time."

"Exactly," Joe said a little too quick and immediately apologized, not that Veronica had been offended. "I'm trying to give him space. I mean, he just lost his mom. Just met me and his sister. He's got a lot on his plate."

"Very true, but can I give you a bit of advice? From one estranged parent to the next?"

Joe nodded.

"While you're trying your best to give your son his space...you can't let him believe you're _friends_. You need to establish that you _are_ the father but also give him a chance to voice his thoughts once in awhile." Veronica smiled to herself. "I know, easier said than done."

"Ain't that the truth," Joe mumbled and willed himself to get back to work.

~ 0 ~

Poison Ivy keenly watched from across a street in silence. People walked by and merely gave the woman strange glances for the flowers in her long orange hair, but since she was dressed in normal clothes, no one would think she was Poison Ivy. Her eyes narrowed down on the building, waiting for the right moment...

"I'm here," Datura's voice rang in Poison Ivy's ear. "And...so are they."

"So we're good to go?"

"Go for it."

~ 0 ~

The dark brunette doppleganger inched down the STAR Labs hallway. She could hear voices belonging to familiar people, people she wanted to murder on the spot.

"I am still so sorry," Belén was saying to Barry as they walked out of the elevator. They didn't immediately walk for the cortex but instead remained in the entrance area to finish their conversation. "I just can't figure it out."

"Bells, don't worry about it," Barry turned to face her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Wally thought you were funny and honestly, you were just being yourself."

"Funny? I'm a weirdo, that's that I guess," she sighed. "Eternally weird."

"Eternally _stupid_ ," Datura muttered from her hiding spot. She could not believe her doppelganger was actually this moronic. Belén had to have at least some bad bone in her body, right? Datura wondered if any other of their doppelgangers were this stupid soft? That just couldn't be right.

"Belén, you are exactly who you're supposed to be. I, personally, love who you are," Barry gave Belén that smile she loved so much. It was goofy but it was lovestruck and that's what made her heart swell.

"Thanks," Belén tilted her head at him, growing her own smile. "I really did mean to be normal, but...I have a lot of things on my plate, you know, not that you don't, but...I also really think I'm just not used to meeting boyfriend's families anymore. Carlton's family, well..."

The mention of Carlton actually stiffened Datura from her spot. "There's one here too?" her face contorted to pure and honest hatred.

"I get it," Barry told Belén. "And I know Iris would get it too. But don't worry so much. Everything really _is_ fine." He leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

At this point, Datura wanted to kill them _now_. She took in a deep breath and reminded herself that if she kept to the plan, this would be the last time she would have to step foot on this Earth, the last time she would have to see any of these people.

~ 0 ~

Poison Ivy raised a portrait of Belén, Maritza and Rayan in Belén's bedroom. She brought a hand to her comm. "Hm, it's just like we thought. The sister's in jail and the brother's dead.

"Wait, Maritza's in jail?" Datura nearly had herself a good laugh. "Maybe she's actually cooler than my sister."

" _Focus_ ," Poison Ivy warned. "I can break the sister out, no problem. And you can use your little face to get the kid."

"Shouldn't I use my face to get Maritza out instead?"

"No. Last thing we need is for you to get caught in a no-metahuman site. Who knows what that could do to you. Let's just work fast." Poison Ivy carefully put the portrait down in its place and smiled.

~ 0 ~

After an encounter with the metahuman controlling tar, and with Barry familiarizing himself with the case, it became easier to battle the problem. With new information, they had pulled up a better profile.

"Tar Pit was after one Clay Stanley. Stanley, as it turns out, is a suspected hit man that the CCPD has been trying to track for a while, but they haven't been able to make anything stick," Barry explained, recognizing the man on the screen as the near-victim he had saved earlier. "No pun intended," he added after Cisco had chuckled.

"Do we know why he was attacked?" Belén asked beside him.

"Uh, Stanley wouldn't answer any of my questions. He was pretty scared."

Caitlin made a face. "When a hit man is scared, you know something's wrong."

Barry agreed and asked Cisco, "Hey, did you get an ID on our meta-human?"

"Yeah, I'm running it through five different facial recognition systems right now, so it should take a minute. And there it is. Who's the best hacker in the world, people?"

It was a sad moment for Cisco when all three of his friends answered, "Felicity Smoak."

"What is _wrong_ with you three?" he frowned. "That's not friendship."

Caitlin playfully rolled her eyes and got them back on track. "Our meta-human's name is Joseph Monteleone."

"How friendly...he looks…" Belén gulped at the sight of the new profile of their metahuman.

"Monteleone was reported missing - surprise, surprise - on the night of the particle accelerator explosion," Caitlin read off the profile.

"And what's the connection between Monteleone and the two victims?" asked Cisco.

"I'll call Joe," Barry immediately thought of. "Maybe he and your mother-" he looked at Belén, "-can run background checks on all three guys."

"Okay, I'm gonna run some tests on the tar samples," Caitlin announced. "See if I can find his weakness."

"I have to go to work," Belén turned to leave as well. "Oh, and Cisco, Axel will be over tonight so get rid of your pointy toys."

"Yes, ma'am," Cisco rolled his eyes at her. Once she was gone, he had a different talk with Barry. "You're going slower than normal. You clocked in at 1,450 miles an hour this last time."

Barry didn't think too much of it since this was the first time it was being brought up. "But, I'm sorry, how fast do I usually run?"

"1,500. Are you getting enough to eat?"

"Believe me, I am," Barry promised. "I'm fine, seriously. The difference seems negligible. Fast is fast, right?"

Cisco had to nod but he wasn't so sure. It just sprung out of nowhere.

"I gotta go too, okay? See yah," Barry went after Belén so that the two could leave together.

~ 0 ~

"The background cases aren't available," Veronica tapped her chin. She looked at Joe across from her desk and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think this is the end of it, is it?"

"Nope," Joe got up from his seat. "Cisco will probably have to break into them from STAR Labs."

Veronica's eyes widened. "But that's illegal!"

Joe remained unaffected. "Welcome to the team."

With a sigh, Veronica leaned back on her chair. "I can't get used to it, you know."

"At least yours isn't fighting anymore," Joe smiled, but Veronica mused.

"Don't think that'll last much longer. I can tell when Belén is itching to do something. When she was younger and wanted to do that whole aerial dancing facade, she would jump from one couch to the other just to prove a point."

Joe laughed. "Well, we might as well get going."

"You go ahead. I want to catch up on all these papers here."

Joe agreed and left her to her work. Veronica worked focused on the papers in front of her, but at about an hour later, she got a text message from Belén. She wanted to meet Veronica at Jitters. Veronica didn't think too much on coming out of the station to meet with her. She walked down the street and was attempting to call Belén. She'd realized her daughter was meant to be at work and was worried something may have happened. But as she was about to dial again, someone thrashed her from the back and hit her head hard. Veronica went down in a second, completely out cold.

~0~

After another get together in STAR Labs, the team was able to track down the supposed next victim of Tar Pit. Thankfully, Iris knew where to find the new victim - Clark - due to the fact she'd gone over to threaten him the day before. Now while she and Joe went after the man, Barry and Harry were going to be testing their first device meant to completely shut down a breech. If it worked it could finally close down all the breaches in the city and just leave the one in STAR Labs.

Their stop was at a warehouse shipment.

Harry was giving the device one last tinker before handing it to Barry. "If our calculations are correct…"

"And they are," Barry assured. It had been created by him, Harry and from E-1 evil Wells. That thing was definitely going to work.

"When this device detonates, it will collapse the event horizon on this side of the breach, thereby shutting off any connection to Earth-2 permanently."

Barry nodded, meaning to he excited, when a yawn slipped through his mouth. Harry noticed it and turned away immediately. There were mounds of guilt piling on him. His own secret siphoning device was definitely working and without any trouble. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. I don't feel like myself," Barry shrugged, once more not making a big desk out of it. "I'm good though. Yeah. It's gonna work, Harry."

"Yep, yep. Okay. You ready?"

"Yeah, give it to me." Barry took the device from him, and using his speed, he chucked the device straight ahead. It visibilized the breech and exploded. Barry slowly walked towards it and waved his hand where the breech was meant to be. He let loose a loud laugh when there was nothing there. "We did it!" he laughed and briefly gave Harry a hug. "Come on! You just rewrote the laws of physics!" he wasn't surprised when Harry failed to show any emotions. "Don't smile or anything."

"I guess that was pretty cool," Harry finally relented.

"Yeah, I'd say so. One down, 51 to go!"

"Allen…"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," although Harry wasn't sure why he was saying that.

"It's just the first step in getting your daughter back. Come on!" Barry led the way back to the STAR Labs van.

~0~

An Iron Heights male guard was making a usual patrol outside the metahuman cells. There was nothing to report except for the occasional banging against the wall and curses here and there. This night, however, there was an odd swishing above him. He stopped in the middle of an aisle and looked up but all he saw were the usual pipes. When he gave up and looked back ahead he came face to face with an upside down female face. She was hanging by a vine and a twisted smile was on her face.

"Your metahuman ward is a joke," Poison Ivy smiled sweetly. "Maybe you should think about spreading that anti-methuman crap to the air-vents. For now, I'm going to need your keys my friend." Before the guard could move a finger, she punched the man and pulled the keys off him. She then hurried down the aisle, ignoring the calls and whistles of the other metahumans begging to be released.

The lucky winner was Maritza Palayta.

"Wakey, wakey!" Poison Ivy called just as she unlocked the cell.

"What…?" Maritza sat up on her bed, eyes wide in alarm at the woman. "Who are-"

Poison Ivy punched her across the face, effectively knocking Maritza out.

~0~

Despite it turning out to be a good, successful night, Barry soon got a call from Iris who was urgently telling him to get over to the street racing area because Tar Pit had decided to attack. With Iris' address, Barry sped there in a snap and found Wally's car making a complete turn over on a tar pit made hill. He sped through the car and got Wally out in time. Of course now the car was flying towards another man - Clark himself - and rushed to get him out of the way next. Just when he thought everything was good, he saw the shattered window pieces flying towards none other than Iris. She wouldn't be fast enough to get out of the way so Barry sped towards to snatch the pieces from her direction.

But, as it turned out, he wasn't fast enough either.

Barry didn't know what to think when the last piece, probably the biggest, slipped his catch and plunged into Iris' shoulder. The woman took the blow with widened eyes and fell back on the ground unconscious.

"Iris! Get her to the hospital!" Joe frantically shouted at Barry. He nodded and sped off, leaving everyone else in a state of horror and anxious.

~0~

Belén entered Axel's daycare and dodged all the lively children coming out with their parents. She remembered where Axel's class was and directly went there to pick him up.

"Mrs. Fallon, hi," she greeted the gray-haired woman in the class. "I'm sure my mother already called to say I'd be picking Axel up tonight."

"Yes," Mrs. Fallon nodded her head but Belén noticed she was receiving odd stares.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?"

"Well, it's just...you already picked Axel up, and a while ago too. You came early."

Belén didn't know how to respond except to smile on confusion. "I can assure you I haven't."

"Yes, you did," Mrs. Fallon assured, and it began to worry Belén that the woman looked so sure of it. "You came about an hour ago saying there was a family emergency."

Belén could feel her heart picking up. "I-I didn't…."

"We can show you your signature if you'd like. You picked him up, dear. Are you alright?"

"Mrs. Fallon please look at me-" Belén gestured to herself, "-and tell me if I came to pick up my nephew."

Despite the question being totally irrelevant, Mrs. Fallon did as she was asked and looked Belén over. "It was you dear. Are you sure you're alright?"

It was hard to breathe but Belén pulled through for the last couple of minutes she spent in there. "Y-yes. I'm sorry, you're right. I did forget I picked Axel up. I-I need to go…"

"Ms. Palayta?"

Belén ran as fast as she could back to her car. Her heart was racing faster than ever. Before driving off, she tried getting in contact with her mother, although Belén wasn't sure what exactly she would tell her mother.

' _Hey Mom! Don't fret or anything but I think a metahuman may have taken Axel!'_

"That'll be a conversation," Belén mumbled to herself while waiting for her mother to pick up. Frustrated when Veronica didn't answer, Belén decided to drive back to STAR Labs.

~0~

"Don't worry, we're gonna get him," Cisco told Barry after catching the metahuman blankly staring at his suit with some sort of regret. "I'm sorry, dude." It was easy to tell Barry was blaming himself for Iris' injury, despite the woman turning out to be fine in the end.

"You shouldn't worry. We're gonna get him with these," Cisco made a motion for Harry to pass the small silver devices spread in front of Harry. However, Harry decided to _throw_ one at Cisco instead. "With these nitrous grenades!" Cisco loudly said as a reminder for Harry of how delicate they were. "Each of these has ten times the concentration of a hot rod's nitrous tank and is triggered by extreme heat. We're talking 650 degrees. That's the boiling point of asphalt, so one of these puppies makes contact, you got a Tar Pit popsicle for dessert."

Barry was glad to see that they at least figured out a way to stop the metahuman, but it wasn't exactly what was bothering him. "Um... Hey, look, I think that maybe you were right. I felt slower tonight. You know, not by much, but enough. Well, do you think there's something wrong with the suit maybe?"

"It's unlikely," Harry's mouth without his control. He frowned at himself but once again the gnawing at his mind began.

"The readings from the suit are normal," Cisco promised. "You know I take care of that thing."

"Yeah, what? Am I sick?"

"I don't know, dude. Feel any different?"

Barry shook his head after a moment. "No, not really. I mean, I know that I'm slower in the moment, but I can't tell by how much."

Caitlin stood up from the desk and brought over a tablet with his readings. "2%. Tests on the components in your blood show the Speed Force at a 100% for the last 60 days until today, it dropped to 98."

Cisco got to thinking after a moment. "Zoom stole Jay's speed. Do you think maybe, during your fight with Zoom, yours might have diminished?"

"But that was weeks ago. Why would I just be feeling those effects now?" Barry couldn't find a plausible answer and tjrned to the only man who give some explanation. "Dr. Wells? You've studied the Speed Force more than anyone. What do you think could have happened?"

Harry swallowed hard but surprisingly spoke without difficulty. "It could be any number of things…"

"Yeah. All right. I just looked, I mean, Iris could have died tonight…" Barry sighed and put a hand on his forehead.

"She's gonna be okay, Barry," Caitlin reminded him.

"You know, this time, but the fact is, she is hurt right now because of me. I wasn't fast enough to protect Iris just from some meta-human tonight. When Zoom attacks again, I need all of my speed and then some. I can't lose anyone else."

Harry squeezed his eyes shut for a second, his mind screaming him to do one thing while his heart told him another. Finally, he slammed a hand on the desk and got up. Ignoring everyone's reactions, he confessed. "I did it." He went directly towards Barry's suit and pulled off the emblem to pick up the small octagonal device planted on the back. "I stole your speed. I gave it to Zoom."

At the same time he confessed those words, Belén and Joe came in, although no one saw the grim face on Joe and the frantic one on Belén.

"What... you're working with Zoom?" Barry angrily stepped forwards. Had he really fell for the same trick again!?

"No, not at first, I mean-"

"We trusted you. I trusted you!"

Joe decided enough was enough and strode towards them. He punched Harry to the floor then picked him back up and started dragging him away.

"Joe!" Barry and the others went after him but Belén latched a hand on Cisco's arm to keep him back.

"We've got another problem! It's Axel! I-I think a metahuman took him! A shape-shifter!"

Cisco stopped in his tracks and stared with wide eyes at her. Belén pulled him back to the desk.

"I-I don't know how but I think they can shape-shift or something. They took Axel and my Mom isn't picking up either. Please, you have to do some of that security camera stuff to see what's going on!"

Without a word, Cisco plopped down and started to work.

A couple minutes, Barry and Caitlin came back with Joe after seeing him practically throw Harry into the pipeline.

"Why did you put him in there?" Caitlin still had to ask.

"Because if I didn't, I would've kill him," Joe answered in an unusual dark voice. "We need to find this tar freak."

"What are you doing?" Barry asked once he saw Cisco fiercely working on the computers. "Did you find Tar Pit?"

"No, he's looking for Axel," Belén answered with a shaky voice. At everyone's look, she told them the story of her visit to Axel's daycare.

Barry slapped a hand to his face. "How much do you want to bet Harry knows about this too?"

"You think Datura did this?" Belén's eyes widened with a new sense of fear.

"Well, if it was her, then there's definitely a chance of shape-shifting with her siphoning powers," Caitlin joined Cisco at the desk and started to help him.

"I don't know, I just...I don't know. I'm trying to get in contact with my Mom and she's not answering either," Belén felt like a child the way she was acting, but she truly didn't know what the hell to do.

"I was coming in to tell you…" Joe began, "No one's seen your mother at the station. As far as I knew, she was going to be doing paperwork all day."

"That's what she told me too," Belén rubbed her face.

Barry came over to her side and hugged her. "We'll find them."

"Uh...guys…" Cisco's voice reeled them to the back of his and Caitlin's chairs.

One screen had Poison Ivy knocking Veronica in the street, and the next had a dark brunette in a mask - Datura, without their knowledge - holding Axel by the hand. She was waving at the street camera with purpose, wanting to be seen.

"Oh my God…" Belén nearly pushed Cisco out of the way to see closer. "Datura has Axel.'

Caitlin hated bringing her more bad news but she tapped Belén's shoulder and pointed to the computer in front of them. It was a news report in front of Iron Heights. Caitlin unmuted the reporter so they could all listen in.

' _Earlier this afternoon, there was a break in at Iron Heights' new metahuman department. Sources say it was conducted by yet another metahuman. Only one inmate was taken, or broken out: Maritza Palayta, aka Plasticine…'_

"NO!" Belén put slammed a hand on the desk, startling the rest.

"They orchestrated this," Cisco told them all.

"She wants to meet," Belén straightened up, suddenly emotionless. "Fine. I'll meet."

"You don't want to do that…" Barry went after her, towards her unused suit. "I know how that works. You go out all emotional and next thing you know you get your ass kicked."

Belén turned around, red in the eyes, with pursed lips. "That's my family out there. She _kidnapped_ them because of me. If it had been Zoom you would be out there right now doing the exact same thing I'm going to do."

There Barry didn't have the courage to disagree. If it had been Zoom who captured his family, including her, there would be nothing stopping him from going out to the streets to search. "Okay, but you don't have to go alone. Let me give the streets a quick scan, yeah?'

Belén figured that would get them somewhere at least.

Just as he was about to speed out, Cisco called to them.

"Yo, incoming message…" Cisco pulled up the video feed.

Belén had chills.

Datura stood tall and smug in front of the screen. She tucked a dark curl behind her ear and smiled at the camera. " _Good evening, Central City. You have the honor of meeting the finest woman of the hour."_

"Is she for real?" Cisco made a face, but even his sarcasm wasn't enough to pull Belén away.

' _For the past few months, I have made my presence known very well in this city, on this Earth. Truth is, I only come with one target and she's letting you all get hurt. All she had to do was let me take her away. But you know what? I am **so** tired of this cat-and-mouse game so..." _

"Cisco, I hope you're tracking this," Barry turned away from the screen. Cisco was indeed working on it and held a finger to indicate he needed some time.

Datura straightened herself up, raising her head as she began to say, _"Azalea, you know this has been coming for a long time. One final battle between us. Tonight at 9 pm, at your beloved favorite park. Let's find out who's really the strongest."_

"You're on, bitch," Belén didn't hesitate to respond.

"Cisco!?" Barry called again, and sharper.

"I can't!" the man exclaimed. "The signal's coded and I can't work around it."

Belén furiously stalked out of the cortex and headed for the pipeline.

"Uh, where's she going?" Cisco turned on his chair.

"Where do you think?" Barry muttered as he followed his girlfriend out.

"Barry, wait," Caitlin's soft voice pulled him back. She pointed at her screen that rang with 'incoming call'.

~0~

Veronica wriggled and wriggled against the rope around her wrists keeping her tied to a plain wooden chair. Beside her, Axel was in the same predicament, only the four year old was mighty confused. On her right was Maritza, out cold, and also tied up. Thankfully, she seemed to be waking up.

"Mommy's awake!" Axel cheered. His voice was enough to fully stir Maritza from her slumber.

"What the hell?" Maritza looked around the dusty old warehouse they were in. "Where are we?"

"Never mind that. Use your powers to get us out," Veronica urged. "They're using us as bait for your sister, I'm sure of it."

Maritza didn't need any more explanations than that. But just as she was about conjure up her old powers, a needle was stabbed into her neck. She gasped from the sudden contact and looked up to find Datura - covered up with a mask - injecting a strange fluid into her.

"Nighty night," her modulated voice sarcastically said.

"What are you doing to her!?' Veronica demanded, once again wriggling against her bindings.

"Putting her to sleep," Datura pulled the needle from Maritza's neck then moved around to face her. She patted Maritza's cheek just to see if the effects were kicking in. Maritza's eyes had a loopy tinge to them and in a matter of seconds she was unconscious again. "This should knock her out for another two hours. Made it myself."

"Am I supposed to be proud?" Veronica sourly asked.

"I wouldn't mind," Datura moved on to her and pulled out a cellphone. "Yeah, we're probably going to need to destroy this." Veronica and Axel were startled as Datura's gloved hand cackled with electricity at the same time her eyes glowed white. "STAR Labs is full of geniuses I heard. Can't have them tracking you down. Don't worry, I memorized numbers. I'm good with memory. Or was that Johnson I took that ability from? I can't remember."

"Who _are_ are you?" Veronica could not figure it out for the life of her. " _What_ are you, I should say instead. Belén's told me things about you, how you want to hurt her...but why?"

"Quit asking so many questions," Datura turned away.

"Just...just let my daughter and grandson go then," Veronica looked at Axel then at Maritza. "They don't need to be here. A-Axel shouldn't be here, he's just a kid."

Datura swiftly turned around, eyes locking with the child for a moment. "He's not in any danger," she said in an unusual soft voice. Veronica noticed it straightaway but it didn't make her feel any better. "I may be a monster but I don't hurt kids. He's only here to get the message across to your dear daughter." She grabbed an old phone and started dialing in a number, turning said call into a video call.

Once she saw the familiar faces of the STAR Labs inhabitants, she began.

' _I'm sure by now you're all scrambling…'_

~0~

In STAR Labs, everyone except Belén was in on the video call. Cisco and Caitlin were automatically trying to trace the call.

'... _but I do hope the Azalea responds. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her family would they_?' Datura showed them Axel, Veronica and Maritza behind her.

"You need to let them go," Barry's warning did nothing for him. "I don't care who you are, we're going to find you and we're going to lock you away. You and your little friend."

' _Good luck, Flash. No one's been able to handle me. I'm invincible. Remember my powers?_ ' Datura raised her free hand and made it crackle with electricity first, then vines raised from it, and then suddenly there was energy fields. ' _The Azalea will meet me at the spot or her family dies. And don't try to trace me, I've made sure it's impossible. I_ _'m the complete package. Genius, you see,'_ Datura tapped the side of her curly haired head. ' _Oh, one more thing:_ _Flash, if you dare to help the Azalea fight this...I won't hesitate to show you how poisonous I am. I'll start with the boy."_ With that, Datura ended the transmission. Barry turned to Cisco, hoping for some good answers, but Cisco was discovering that Datura was being honest in that she was smarter than she looked.

"I don't understand what is the point in all this," Caitlin gave a shake of her head. "Except to be crazy."

"I think we should focus less on the reasons and more on the 'how the hell are we solving' this," Joe pushed them for the better stance. "The woman's a siphoner - that should be complicated enough."

"She's not invincible," Belén appeared at the threshold with Shivhan at her side. They turned to find Belén holding a notepad in her hands.

Barry quickly went towards her. "Hey…"

Belén raised a hand to keep him away for the moment. "She's not invincible," she said with a rough voice that indicated she was taking extra care not to cry again. "Harry wrote down some notes on Datura. Look at this," she started to read off the notes out loud, " _'Different voices at once could be an indicator of multiple personality disorder. Seems to be uncontrolled.'_ " Belén's eyes looked up to her friends. "You see that? Datura's sick and maybe now with an idea of what she might have, we could end this."

"How does one fight a woman with multiple personality disorder?" Joe looked around for any answers to that question.

"Lock her up in a psychiatric ward," Cisco replied without a second thought.

"Maybe we don't have to fight her to win her," Shivhan's odd statement earned herself the group's collective confused stare.

"Uh, we kind of _do_ ," Barry said slowly.

"No, if we want to be smart about this then we don't have to fight her to win," Shivhan took the notepad from Belén and went through some of the things Harry had written down. "Look, Harry was very specific on the fact that Datura and Poison Ivy were a duo. They hardly do things without the other."

"Yeah no offence, I don't think we should be trusting anything that man has said...or written," Joe shook his head. "He's been lying to us."

"But he's not wrong about this," Belén realized. "I've seen it myself. Poison Ivy is always there to back Datura up."

"And when Datura is going to far, Poison Ivy is there," Shivhan added. "She's the one who reels Datura back when the psycho needs it."

"Remember how she lost her deadly scream?" Belén began to smile. "Poison Ivy warned her not to exert herself and Datura didn't listen. Datura on her own may not be as smart she claims to be."

"So what are we thinking, then?" Caitlin asked.

"I need to lock Poison Ivy in the pipeline."

"That's a nice plan and all but how the hell are we going to do that?" Cisco wondered since they'd failed multiple times in defeating the woman.

"I don't know," Belén straightened herself up. "But I'll find out when I'm out there."

"Let me take a better look at these notes," Cisco took the notepad from Shivhan and headed for his working room. "Maybe there really is something we can use in here."

"Alright…Barry, we still need to find Tar Pit," Joe reminded the younger metahuman. "Better we find him and get that out of the way before...you know…"

Barry followed his gaze to Belén who'd taken to stare at her suit silently. "Yeah, we should."

"Cisco did already figure out a way to stop him," Caitlin offered the solution that was already at their disposal.

"Okay, and I think I know a way to lure him out," Joe said, meaning for him and Barry to get going.

"Yeah, alright, just let me…" Barry made a motion to Belén, and Joe nodded. As Joe headed out, Barry walked over to Belén. "Okay, we're going to stop Tar Pit and then we're going to focus on Datura and Poison Ivy."

"Mhm," Belén said without much emotions on her face.

"Bells, please...don't do anything stupid. I say that from experience," Barry sighed.

"Mhm."

Barry glanced at Shivhan, silently hoping she'd look after Belén. Shivhan smiled softly and assured him she'd be around.

"I will be...right back," Barry promised Belén. He kissed her temple then sped out with his suit.

"You do you, Barry," Belén mumbled under her breath. "And I'll do me."

~ 0 ~

Poison Ivy walked through the old warehouse with a look of distaste. "Alright, it's almost time," she caught sight of Datura tinkering with some toys left on a table. "Which means you can start releasing them. I'd send the kid off first."

Axel was falling asleep in his chair, utterly bored.

"The metahuman needs to go first," Datura turned around and jumped on the table, crossing her legs where she sat. "The syringe I injected in her is going to end soon. Can you believe she was a metahuman on this planet? What a waste."

Poison Ivy snickered and whispered, "Meanwhile your sister was nothing but a boring ole-"

"Sh," Datura raised a hand to stop Poison Ivy from talking. She pointed a gloved finger at Veronica who was narrowly glaring at them both.

Poison Ivy glanced at Veronica and raised an eyebrow. "Got a problem there, sweetheart? Besides your current situation."

"All I heard was that you're being sent off to return my nephew and daughter," Veronica replied, eyes glued onto Datura.

"We told you we're not interested in any of you. You were just the insurance that your daughter got the call."

"Datura, it's time," Poison Ivy gently shook Datura's arm. "And you remember, you can't exert yourself-"

Datura rolled her eyes but said not a word of argument. "I won't."

"I mean it," Poison Ivy yanked the woman off the table, harshly that even Veronica was startled by. "You need to listen to what I say."

"When don't I?" Datura asked with a sweet smile on her face.

~ 0 ~

Cisco emerged from his work room with the notepad in hand but all scanned and done. "Alright, so I think I might be able to answer some Datura trivia now." He found the cortex empty but didn't really panic until he saw that Belén's old suit was also missing. "Oh no, no, no, no!" he rushed to the computers and started calling out for Belén, Caitlin and Shivhan.

In a matter of moments, Caitlin came rushing into the cortex with half a cup of coffee. "What's going on!?"

"Belén's gone! How could you have left her!?" Cisco angrily motioned to the empty display behind him.

Caitlin's eyes widened. "Wh-what? She just...she asked me to get her some coffee for the nerves and I-"

"Caitlin," Cisco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a second, "When someone who's not meant to leave asks you to get them coffee in another room...it's _always_ a lie!"

This time Caitlin didn't fault him for his sarcasm. She put the cup down on the desk guiltily stared at the empty displays. "Well, Shivhan's suit is gone so at least we know Belén isn't entirely alone. What do we do now?"

"We call Barry, that's what we do," Cisco started on the computers again.

With nothing else to do, Caitlin sat down and helped him. As Cisco went to his work table in the cortex, scouring for the communicator Belén left behind, he came up short with another invention of his.

"Where's my prison field?" he turned back to Caitlin.

Caitlin could only shrug.

~ 0 ~

Because of the public video challenge, Datura and Poison Ivy appeared in the Central City park subjected to crowds of people with flashing camera phones and the usual police siren lights. From a distance, Belén watched the two smug women waiting for her.

"Are you sure about this?" Shivhan stood right next to her and despite her mask covering her face Belén could still see the clear nervousness on it.

"Yeah. You don't have to be here, though. They challenged _me_."

"I'm not leaving you to fight those two psychos on your own," Shivhan scoffed. "It's what they want. Numbers is a huge game changer."

"Yeah but maybe you could go find my family instead."

"Tell you what, we can do that after we kick ass," Shivhan bumped her shoulder with Belén's, making the latter smile. "You know, after you get an earful from Barry for not listening to him."

"Eh, I can kiss him and make him forget about it," shrugged Belén. Shivhan chuckled. Belén took in a deep breath and stepped forwards. "Ready?"

"Bring it," Shivhan nodded.

"I do believe it's 9 p.m…" Datura spoke purposely loud to the crowd watching them. "Could it be your coward flower princess isn't showing up?"

"You _wish_ ," Belén's figure formed over the park fountain.

"Well, at least this way I won't have to go looking for you," Datura raised her hands, letting them shine with gold electricity. "Ready?"

"Always," Belén smiled much too cheerfully for Datura's taste. The Earth 2 metahuman scowled and fired first. The electricity went directly for Belén but ultimately missed her as she disappeared into vines.

Belén reappeared behind Datura, striking her with a vine over the head. As she was about to hit again, Poison Ivy snuck behind Belén to do the same...only for Black Orchid to make her appearance and wrap a vine-lasso around Poison Ivy's body. The ginger shrieked when her body was thrown in the opposite direction.

Datura used the momentary distraction to her advantage and blasted Belén with a flame sniper. Belén felt the angry burn slash across her abdomen after sitting up on the ground.

 _That's really going to leave a mark_ , she looked down at her suit.

Datura laughed as she walked towards Belén. She let her hands dangle on her sides but they were glowing brown. "Dear me, I guess all that practice in the Green didn't do anything for you, huh?" she raised one hand and with it came a chunk of cement. Belén's eyes widened at it - it was pretty huge. "You're still as pathetic and weak as before." Datura threw the chunk of ground at Belén.

Belén thrust her two hands above her head and created a shield of pure vine matter. The cement still crashed over her but she was relatively safe with the extra layer of protection. Of course when Datura saw her fatal attack had done next to nothing, she growled and lunged on Belén altogether.

Black Orchid wanted to help Belén get the woman off her, but Poison Ivy was a menace. Poison Ivy thrust a hand forwards to knock her out with a vine, but Shivhan used her own vines to jump over the ginger woman. As soon as her boots touched ground, Shivhan swiped her vines across Poison Ivy's legs. It didn't last long because Poison Ivy jumped back on her feet and commanded the trees at her will. Shivhan, in her shock, only stepped back once, before she was wrapped up.

"I thought this would be a little more fun," Poison Ivy moved forwards, making the mistake that the battle was over. She twisted her hands to produce the same movements but missed the fact there were some vines escaping through the ground. Before she knew it, Black Orchid had reformed right behind her. Her foot connected with Poison Ivy's back and kicked her down.

Belén did a semi-spin to shower the air with deadly rose thorns. She did admit in taking pleasure hearing Datura's shrieks when some of the thorns struck her skin. The woman owed her one of many! Datura tried to strike back with a sharpened vine her way, but Belén used one of the new tricks she learned in the Green. She jumped on the vine and dashed across it, almost laughing when Datura yelled in angry surprise. She took even greature pleasure throwing a foot directly at Datura's face.

She might have broken the woman's nose.

"Datura!" Poison Ivy saw the attack in horror and forgot all about Black Orchid. She brought down a lasso vine over Belén's body, keeping the woman locked between it and the ground.

Belén struggled against it but Poison Ivy piled several more vines to keep her tucked inside. And she may have been cutting the air a bit too thin, Belén was sure. _I will lose it if I die by asphyxiation_ , Belén tried pushing her way through to no avail.

"Black Orchid!" she began to cry out as a last resort. "I can't - no air!" she pushed her hands over the thick vines, but nothing seemed to move them. In fact, they seemed to be pressing down on her body. "AIR!"

"You're suffocating her!" Black Orchid ran for Poison Ivy but the ginger managed to keep her force on the vines and take on a side fight with Shivhan.

Belén felt dizzy and she knew that was just the beginning of such a crazy end. _I can't, I can't, not now, I can't..._

Her eyes closed.

And when they opened, Belén found herself in a bright green forest. "What...?"

"Belén?"

Belén began to realize that she wasn't alone. Rose Red and Swamp Thing were in front of her, both seeming concerned for her.

"Am I...am I dead?" Belén clapped her hands to her face, panicked for a moment she really did die.

"No," answered Rose Red. "The Green pulled you in but if you don't go back soon you'll die from asphyxiation."

"Datura's kicking my ass - again!" Belén actually shrieked out of frustration. "And she's gonna hurt my friend!"

"Don't worry," Swamp Thing said, "You are not alone."

"I know, but..." Belén trailed off when more figures began appearing behind them. She recognized a few of them as people she'd met during her training sessions. "Sequoia? Mayflower?" the two women in question nodded their heads with similar smirks. "Chloroplast?" she face one of the men near her. "What are you all...what...?"

"Poison Ivy and Datura put all botany metahumans to shame," Rose Red spoke up and had the agreeing nods of the others. "It's time we showed them what it really means to be part of the Green."

"If you allow us to help you, we can win this battle," the metahumans Sequoia moved forwards. She had long, dark hair wrapped in a single braid over her chest. Her brow suit was outlined with golden hemlines and golden cuffs on her wrists. "Finally strike back."

"What do I have to do?" Belén urgently asked. Even in the Green she could begin to feel the strains of air loss. Her chest felt tight.

"Let us follow through," Sequoia smiled.

Out in the real world, Black Orchid was failing against Datura who had taken over as Poison Ivy continued to seal Belén under her vine mass. Datura fired a jet of red energy that threw Shivhan towards the water fountain. She would've fallen in if Barry had come in and swiped her just inches from the water.

"Thanks," Shivhan breathed in relief as she got back on her feet.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Barry scowled.

" _Uh_ , that Belén was coming with or without us so she might as well have back up!"

"Where is she!?" Barry fiercely looked around but stopped when Shivhan pointed him to the mass of vines.

"She's a bit busy," Datura mirthlessly laughed.

Barry glared at her and was about to move when the ground began to shake. It wasn't one of Datura's tricks since she herself looked confused. Poison Ivy was knocked off her feet, landing in a roll. Belén broke through the vine mass and rose to her feet (quite literally). Her body glowed a bright green, matching her emerald-green, scaly skin.

"What's going on!?" demanded Datura.

Poison Ivy seemed a bit more worried than her partner as she scooted away. "The-the..."

"I warned you, Poison Ivy, that you should not misuse the power of the Green," Belén's voice was not of her own and Poison Ivy knew exactly who was in control. "But you continued to choose wrong and look where that led you?"

"What the hell is going on?" Datura fired a jet of eletricity only for Belén to swipe a hand to the right and capture the electricity in a thick vine mass. Belén then re-directed it back on Datura. The siphoner had no time to realize before the mass hit her square in the chest and shock her on the ground.

"It's the Green!" Poison Ivy jumped on her feet.

"It's the Green?" Barry was a bit afraid but he looked at Shivhan for some more information.

"They're helping," she smiled smugly. "Oh and they are about to _get it_. The Green is very clear about the rules."

Belén thrust her hands forwards, releasing chunks of tree bark - sequoia pieces to be exact - as sharpened knives at Poison Ivy. The woman quickly put her shield up but her feet still slid backwards with each blow. Belén's body rose into the air and let a series of vines extend from her body, threatening to snap over Poison Ivy's head.

"Stop it!" hissed the woman as she tried to defend herself. However, she realized some of the vines were part of rose roots and therefore felt the sting of the thorns.

But one of the vines struck harder than the rest - it was even bigger and thicker than the others - and it pushed right on Poison Ivy's left arm. The woman's shrill scream of pain as her arm disconnected from her shoulder was enough to make the crowd cover their ears. With a broken arm, there wasn't much Poison Ivy could do.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Poison Ivy shouted at Belén. She sent streams of poison towards a number of people, knowing it was exactly the type of thing that would get Belén to stop her attacks.

And she was right.

Belén quickly moved for the crowd and blocked the way with numerous tendrils of vines. She started breathing harder, in and out, in and out…

"Wait - don't do that!" Shivhan yelled and the fact she'd done that made Barry panic. "She's not trained yet to intake all that poison! It can kill her!"

Belén was sucking in the poison no matter how bad it burned her throat. Barry went straight for Poison Ivy and rammed the woman to the ground. Datura's eyes flashed with fury but Black Orchid began a new fight with her. She tossed the siphoner to the side with a tendril and made for a good distraction.

Poison Ivy was subjected to thorns again, that made her quickly spring vines to block them. Belén disbanded and reformed from behind in less than a second, giving her a momentary surprise attack which she used to conjure up vines that entangled Poison Ivy. She then pushed Poison Ivy into a park bench and tossed Cisco's gadget. It exploded over Poison Ivy and trapped her in an electrical boundary.

"You did it," Barry blinked at Belén with a growing smile on his face. But Belén did not smile, her body was still being shared by multilple botany metahumans. She turned to Datura who had yelled for her partner once she saw the trap.

"Datura, get out of here!" Poison Ivy quickly instructed, but Datura shook her head in tears. "I said leave! If you get trapped then we're both done for!"

"But-"

"GET OUT!"

"Pamela!" Datura cried, but once she saw Barry making a move towards her, she quickly sprung her own gadget that opened a breech for her. She disappeared just a second before Barry would reach her.

"Dammit!" Barry hissed and turned around.

"She'll be back," promised Poison Ivy, looking very certain of her words.

Belén looked at her but said nothing. The green glow around her body began to fade like the green scaly skin. She took in a deep breath after knowing it was just her in her body now.

"Azalea," Barry rushed back to her side, helping her stay on her feet. He cupped her face and searched for any clear physical injury. "Are you-"

"-it's..." Belén felt a terrible sting in her throat that forbade her from saying more. Instead, she pulled Barry down for a kiss. She'd been very scared and only now could she truly admit it.

~0~

Though it was really late, STAR Labs was up and active with different tasks. Maritza was subjected to a check over just to make sure Datura hadn't slipped anything else into the sleeping drought she'd been given twice. Veronica had gone under a head ran for the bump on the back of her head. Axel was the only one who didn't receive any treatment from either villain. The only one who was under more check overs was, of course, Belén.

When she woke up - because she had no idea when she fell under - she spotted almost everyone around her bed. She was about to retort that she didn't need so many eyes but all that came out were squeaks followed by groans. Her throat _hurt_.

"Yeah I wouldn't try to talk for a while," Cisco whistled. Belén's eyebrows knitted together, confused since her mind wasn't all there yet.

"You took in a heavy amount of poison," Caitlin put a hand on Belén's arm. "If you didn't already have some immunity to poison you would be dead by now."

"I can't believe you did that," Shivhan chuckled. "But if the Green hadn't been helping you, it would've done more damage to you."

"Not..." Belén cringed, "...was...metahumans..."

"Oh," Shivhan blinked. "They were helping you, then? All the other metahumans? That was amazing!"

"But still dangerous," Barry said, looking down at Belén with a sigh. "I told you we would figure it out together. You could've waited, you know. I was really scared something could've happened to you."

Belén apologetically smiled. She pushed herself to sit upright and extended her arms at him. She couldn't talk but she could still hug.

"Don't do anything like that again, _please_ ," Barry kissed her temple and hugged her a bit tighter. He already had Iris in the hospital, the last thing he needed was for Belén to wind up connected to a machine as well.

"Auntie Belén needs to eat a lot of chicken soup," Axel was pushing forwards a chair towards the bed.

"She's not sick, Axel. Some very bad women hurt her," Veronica moved to help the boy but Maritza rushed to do it herself. She wanted to take advantage of every second she had outside with her son.

"Still, she hurt them back really good too," Maritza smirked. "That's my sister."

Belén matched her sister's smile and looked around at the others. She wanted to say something, clearly, but she couldn't do it.

"Here Bells," Cisco gave her a tablet. "You can use this to communicate for the next few days."

Belén beamed and quickly typed on it. ' _Can I have the room with my sister, please?_ '

"If you need anything, we're right here," Barry told her. She nodded and accepted his kiss on the lips with another cheery smile. For someone who nearly poisoned and asphyxiated, she was very happy.

The group began to file out after Barry until it was just Belén and Maritza in the room. Maritza didn't know what to do for a moment except wait for Belén to say (or write) first, but everything that Maritza had been thinking and feeling since she'd been locked away overpowered her patience tactic.

"I'm so sorry for everything I did!" she exclaimed. "I know I've apologized but it's not the same doing it with a wall between us. And I know it probably doesn't mean much but I need you to know that I really am SO so sorry for everything."

For the first time, Belén didn't roll her eyes or discard the apology like she'd done so many times before. The fact was, she wasn't angry anymore. And it didn't feel wrong. She watched her sister go into tears after making her apology and was about to write something on her tablet when she thought of something else.

Belén reached for one of her sister's hands, startling Maritza in the process, and with a strain she said, "I...for...give you…" It physically hurt like hell to say those words but the burning in her throat was worth it when she saw Maritza's lit up face.

"Belén...do you really mean that?" she asked. When Belén nodded, Maritza laughed of joy and hugged her sister. "I really don't deserve a sister like you, Belén. You really _are_ the best in this entire family." Belén chuckled as much as she could before her throat raged again. Maritza drew away with a kind smile. "I really don't deserve to be your sister."

Belén quickly typed on the tablet and turned it around for Maritza to see. ' _You're genuinely repenting for what you did. I'm proud_.'

Maritza's smile widened and her eyes teared up a bit. "Thank you. I, uh...I guess I should go, huh? Everyone still thinks I broke out of prison."

Belén bobbed her head for a few seconds then wrote something new on her tablet. ' _I think the Azalea and the Flash didn't find you until the next morning…_ '

Maritza knew exactly what that meant. She could spend a night with her son. That alone made her burst into tears. "Thank you, Belén!" she took her sister into a tight hug again.

~0~

Poison Ivy had seen better days, much, _much_ better days. Ever since she could remember nothing had ever trapped her, and the only person that did, she killed. Now she found herself trapped inside a small, blue prison that sucked her powers. Still, she did not look defeated.

This was what bothered Barry the most.

He stared at the woman with the coldest face ever yet all she did was smile, and flirtatiously too. A full ten minutes had passed before Poison Ivy got bored and spoke up.

"Hello there, Barry Allen," she dragged a finger along the wall of her prison pod. "I suppose I should be laughing at the irony of _finally_ _properly_ meeting you. And it's funny, really, because I can already name everything about you; your parents, your job, weaknesses, personality...you name it."

"How?" It was the question he and Belén had asked over and over. How the hell did Datura and Poison Ivy know their identities even before meeting them? That didn't make sense. "How do you know about us?"

"Let's just say...my friend told me," Poison Ivy bit her lower lip to stop herself from laughing. They were so clueless it was hilarious!

"Yeah, well, we learned something about you tonight too, _Pamela_ ," Barry could see the anger flourish in the woman, making her almost as red as her hair. "That's your real name isn't it?"

"My name-" she slammed a hand on the wall, "-is Poison Ivy!"

"So you hate it, and yet that's what Datura called you right before she left you. Makes me think you're strongly attached to each other...meaning if you're in here, Datura will fall much easier. I guess I have to thank Shivhan for that tactic. We take you away, Datura will crumble."

Poison Ivy mused over the threat and started to smile again. "You won't touch her."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. You won't be able to defeat her. And it won't be because you can't but because you won't _want_ to."

Barry laughed for a moment. "That's the joke of the century. I'll be sure to pass on the message to Belén. I'm sure that'll make her smile too."

Poison Ivy watched as he went to close her in the pipeline. "You won't be laughing when you find out!"

"Mhm…" Barry ignored her and started the closing sequence.

"She'll get me out and then _I'll_ make you swallow that laugh," Poison Ivy made the vow as she was sealed in.

Barry rolled his eyes and took no attention to her words. He really only wanted to see her realize she was never getting out, but it turns out she was delusional. Still, he had to try. After sealing her up, he moved the coding around to bring in Harry's cell.

When Harry was released, he assumed they'd agreed on his proposition to just send him to E-2 and leave him there. "Well... I guess this is good-bye," Harry stepped outside of his cell.

"No, it's not," Barry shook his head, now serious. "I told you, we're a team. Now you're a part of it. We're gonna help you save Jesse. We're not sending you through alone. We're going to Earth-2."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Finally, this has to be my favorite chapter out of the entire story! The Azalea vs Datura vs Poison Ivy vs Black Orchid! And Belén finally forgives her sister, that made me tear up a bit! Next time, though...EARTH 2! I loved writing those chapters!

P.S did yall see Crisis on Infinite Earths? LET'S DISCUSS!

 **P. S** : I have created a **tumblr** **account** dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I'll probably drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	19. This Side of Paradise

Belén emerged from her hallway, holding her tablet to her chest, and came to the scent of some delicious breakfast. She didn't even blink when Barry sped her into a seat. She only put the tablet down on the table and began typing. She'd been able to recover nicely from her poisonous battle with Datura and Poison Ivy, but only a couple of small worded sentences were able to come out her mouth without it still hurting her.

"How are you feeling?" Barry came by with a plate of cut up apples he knew she liked.

Belén raised the tablet for him to read.

' _I know you're only doing this to butter me up since you're going to Earth 2 today,'_ he read out loud. Belén got up from her chair and went around the table, pointing at the different meals he'd made to proving her point.

With a sheepish smile, Barry reached for her hand to tug her to him. "Yes, alright, I'm trying to stay on your good side. Sue me."

Belén raised an eyebrow and took the tablet from the table to write him a new message.

' _Or you could let me come with you,'_ he frowned at her afterwards. "No, Bells-" hearing the 'no' again made Belén turn to leave so he quickly held onto her, "C'mon, don't do that!" She crossed her arms and glowered. "We talked about it-" Belén cleared her throat and tilted her head, making him re-evaluate his statement. "Okay, we discussed and you listened _but_ you have to agree that it made sense."

It angered Belén even more that it really _had_ made sense. She couldn't talk which meant if she were in trouble the chances of getting back up were scarce. Plus, since they had Poison Ivy in their possession, they assumed Datura was raging with new revenge plans for her. They certainly didn't need that kind of attention in this quick trip they were planning on. They needed to get in and out as fast as possible without attracting too much attention. This was why only Barry, Cisco and Harry were going.

' _I'm scared that something might happen to you over there_ ," she typed on her tablet. ' _This is Datura's home - Zoom's home. They know every crook and cranny...and you don't.'_

Barry acknowledged the concern with a nod of his head. She was very right about that part - he'd been thinking about it ever since he decided to cross worlds. He gingerly took her tablet and set it down on the table then put his hands on her arms. "I _know_ you're concerned but we have to help Harry and his daughter. If Datura's _really_ about Poison Ivy, then Jesse could be in even more danger. We can't leave her to her luck."

Belén sighed. "...careful..." she said in a strained voice.

"I will be, I promise," Barry lowered his head to capture her lips in a kiss. "Now would you like some breakfast?" Belén had to nod because everything really did smell delicious.

~0~

Everyone was standing in the portal room of STAR Labs, pretty unsure of how this plan would go. They were simply hoping for the best.

"Alright," Jay stood in front of the three travelers, "Barry, listen to me. You're about to go through the looking glass. You're gonna see things that look and feel familiar, but they're not. Up is down. Black is white, and do not let yourself get sucked in emotionally, and good luck."

Barry nodded his head that he understood. "Look, if we're not back in 48 hours, that means that Zoom has us. If that happens, you have to close the breach."

A second later, he was smacked with a tablet on the back.

"Nu-uh!" Cisco snatched the tablet from Belén, looking offended on behalf of...the tablet. "You do not use my baby to hit something!"

Belén glared at him too.

"She doesn't get to talk, so that means she can use what she wants to get the point across," Iris came by and swiftly took the tablet from Cisco to give back to Belén. Cisco rolled his eyes and went to Caitlin, hoping to give her one task for him in case things went south.

"Yeah, I got the point," Barry tried rubbing his back where he got hit.

"Just get back here in one piece," Joe said for all three of them.

"Yeah, don't make us come and get you," Iris wagged a finger at him.

"I know," Barry nodded his head. He then looked at Belén for the longest time until she sighed and gave the tablet to Iris. She raised a finger at the portal then moved her finger to point at the spot they stood in. Even though it was pretty difficult to understand what she meant, Barry got it. "I'll do my best to come back, I promise."

Belén raised her head, seeming like she wanted to argue that specific word choice but for the sake of time she let it go. She grabbed his face and kissed him for a significant amount of time instead.

Finally, Cisco just cleared his throat to get them apart. "Yo, we got another world to go to? Remember that?"

Belén blushed but didn't bother with him. She gave Barry a last hug and stepped back so that they could finally get going.

"Is anybody else feeling panic right now?" Cisco said once he, Barry and Harry stood directly in front of the portals. "I chickened out of bungee jumping when I was 18, but this is categorically a lot scarier."

Jay moved back to the controls. "Once I turn the speed cannon on, the three of you will be able to pass through unharmed, but Barry, you need to make sure you keep your speed up."

"Mm-hmm. I... I got no spit," Cisco opened and closed his mouth in horror.

"Jaws," Harry recognized the line, mistakenly.

"I'm not just quoting "Jaws." I mean my mouth is really dry right now!"

Behind them, there was a snicker. Belén had made the 'chicken wings' motion.

"I see you Bells! There's a reflection!" Cisco frowned.

"Do not get distracted by anything you see along the way," Jay's loud voice cut them off.

"What _are_ we gonna see?" asked Barry after a moment.

"Everything."

Oh, that made things sound better. Barry grabbed the back of Cisco's and Harry's collars. "Do it, Jay. Okay, let's go." He took in a big breath and ran straight into the blue portal.

Like Jay had said, there were numerous images that started passing them by including a man with a bow and arrow, a blonde woman with an orange mask over her face and a gorilla.

"Look out!" Jay called to the others remaining in the portal's way. Something cracked and suddenly one of the circular portals rolled off its place. Joe was able to pull Iris and Belén out of the way, and so Jay ran to push Caitlin away as well.

Belén gaped at the sight and coughed at the smoke.

"Uh, what just happened?" Iris looked at the two scientists remaining with them.

Jay helped Caitlin get up, both seemingly fine. "With the rest of the breaches closed, the energy surge to this last remaining breach must have destabilized it," Jay theorized.

"Well, what does that mean?" Joe raised an eyebrow.

"As long as it's unstable Barry and Cisco will be trapped over there."

Belén turned her head at Jay then slowly to the portal and loudly groaned. ' _Of course!'_ she wrote on her tablet.

~ 0 ~

Arriving to Earth 2 was quite a sight since everything seemed to have a more futuristic touch. And since they were in STAR Labs, there was plenty to see in terms of advancements. Harry led the way to an office but of course he had to wait several times because both Barry and Cisco were touring around the place.

"This is amazing. Half these things are just ideas on our Earth!" Barry laughed as he passed a model of a rocket ship.

"Come here," Cisco pulled him towards a golden mural. They posed for a quick picture and missed Harry's murderous glare towards them.

"Ramon!" he hissed.

"What?" Cisco glowered back but then went back to checking the pictures he'd taken so far.

"This is not a sightseeing tour!"

"Speak for yourself," Cisco muttered. "We want our grandkids to know we did cool stuff."

Barry would have laughed had it not been for seeing Henry - the man who almost became part of _Firestorm_ \- coming towards them. He pulled on Cisco's arm, and just as Henry greeted Harry, the two Earth 1 men yelped.

"I thought you might've left town with all that's been happening," Henry threw the two an odd look.

"Right…" Harry knew his absence would lead to questions inevitably.

"Are your friends okay?" Henry finally asked since neither Cisco nor Barry seemed to calm down.

Harry warned the two to calm down before they got themselves caught. "Yes, they're... they're fine. They're excitable. This is, um…"

Henry went ahead and introduced himself to the two. "Henry Hewitt, lab assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Cisco swallowed hard. "And you... um, this is Barry…."

"And this is Cisco," Barry gulped.

"I'm Cisco. Yeah. And you are just a nice, normal guy," Cisco's voice shook with terrible fear.

"Okay, um…" Henry withdrew from that conversation and looked at Harry. "Dr. Wells, will you and your visitors be needing the conference room?"

"Not necessary, Henry. Our visit will be short."

"Okay. Good to see you. Good to see you, sir," Henry turned to leave, but not before giving Barry and Cisco another look. As soon as he was gone, Harry turned on the two with another glare.

"He's a bad guy on Earth-1!" Cisco argued.

"He looks just like him!" Barry added.

Harry released a breath, not about to waste time with them, and led them to a room where they were sure not to be interrupted. As soon as they walked in, they found a screen with a familiar female news reporter giving a broadcast.

"Hey! That's Nina!" Cisco happily pointed at the screen where Earth 2's Nina Clarke was giving the news.

It really surprised them how much she looked like their Nina.

 _"A reminder that a citywide curfew has been issued. No unauthorized person is to be out after 9:00 p.m. A recent increase in Zoom attacks has led Mayor Snart to extend the curfew. The curfew was first issued after a series of terror attacks throughout the city…"_

Harry put down his hidden gun on a table and sighed. "It's worse. It's worse than when I left. Zoom has turned up his reign of terror."

Barry did not need to see more to agree. He turned to Cisco and motioned him to get started. Since Cisco had gained better control of his powers, going as far as making specific goggles for his cause, they thought it would be much easier to find Zoom with them. "All right, then let's find Zoom fast. Cisco, do your thing."

Cisco took out his black goggles and put them on. "All right, Zoom... You can run, but you can't hide." Now, he concentrated hard on finding Zoom but nothing came to mind. He lowered his goggles and looked at the two. "All right, you know what? You guys are crowding my space a little bit. I can't perform like this under pressure, okay? If you could just step back just a little bit, I need to do my thing."

Although it seemed ridiculous, Barry took a step back and motioned Harry to do the same.

"All right. My mojo. Take two... Mm, ah. All right, Zoom. You can run…" Cisco once again did his 'thing' and waited to see Zoom...but got nothing.

Harry lost his patience. "Ramon!" he practically shouted. "What's happening?"

"You know, I don't know, okay?" Cisco snapped and pulled the goggles off. "I can't see anything. I don't know what's wrong. Maybe I lost my powers."

Barry didn't think that made quite sense. "I didn't lose my powers. Why would you lose your powers?"

Cisco was closely examining the goggles and raised his eyebrows when he saw the glitch. "Oh, here we go, the wavelength trigger's not responding, but that only happens if…"

"The frequency is imbalanced," Harry rubbed his face. "Our Earth vibrates at a different frequency than yours."

Cisco let his goggles wave in his hands. "Harry, without that frequency... We're up a creek."

Barry shook his head at him. There was far too much at stake for something like this to happen. Just as he turned away, he spotted _himself_ on screen with E-2 Nina. His mouth fell open and simply pointed at the screen in his shock.

" _The latest attack was orchestrated by Zoom, and we understand that citizens of Central City are scared, but I can assure you the CCPD has been working diligently…_ " E-2 Barry was in the middle of giving his words to the public.

"That's me," Barry could not stop blinking.

Cisco had himself a good laugh with the appearance of his friend's doppleganger. "Yeah, it is!"

 _'...Under the leadership of Detective West. We will stop Zoom. That's a promise…'_

"The leadership of Detective West!" Barry felt somewhat relieved to know that at least something remained the same in this new world.

"So Joe's still a cop here," Cisco hummed.

"Yeah, but more importantly, I'm still a CSI," Barry grinned as a new idea popped in his head. "I have a plan."

Before either Cisco or Harry could question it, Barry sped out of the room. In a second, he was back with his doppelganger.

"What just happened!?" E-2 Barry took in a breath and turned to the three, of course struck when he saw his other self.

Cisco pointed at him like a child in excitement. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, doppelganger!"

E-2 Barry tried processing where he was and how it all happened. "What... who are... who are you?" he asked his doppelganger. "How do you look like me?"

Harry did not have time for this. "Allen, what are you doing?"

E-2 Barry was immediately grinning at the sight of him. "Harrison Wells. The Harrison Wells. Oh, my God, am I in S.T.A.R. Labs?" his eyes scanned the room and nearly fell over from his excitement. "Okay, I have no idea what is going on here, but I've always wanted to meet you. Your thesis on string phenomenology was revolutionary to me." He moved up to Harry, completely engulfed with the man. "I had the magazine laminated so I could keep it. I... I just want to emulate…"

Cisco didn't know which Barry to laugh at - the dorky one from this world or the embarrassed Barry he knew? Harry discreetly tossed Barry a taser while, at the same time, pointing E-2 Barry away for a moment. Barry didn't hesitate to use the taser on his doppelganger.

"What did you do!?" Cisco was horrified as E-2 Barry fell back on a chair, completely unconscious. "What's wrong with you? Have you turned into an evil you?"

"Relax. Just knocked him out," Barry let him see the taser.

"Oh, well, why'd you even bring him over here?"

"So he could become him," Harry rolled his eyes.

Barry nodded his head. "While you guys work on the goggles, I will go to CCPD as him and see if I can figure out what information they have on Zoom's previous sightings. We can use those sightings to triangulate Zoom's hideout."

"Good. That's a good plan," Cisco had to agree. "Just remember what Jay said, okay? Things here are all sorts of trippy."

"Look, it'll be fine. I can handle it," Barry tried to be cool about it. He took off the circular glasses off his doppleganger and put them on. "It'll be easy."

~ 0 ~

As it turns out, his doppleganger's clothes were not as comfortable as they seemed at first. Barry tugged at the choking bow-tie around his neck while he waited for the elevator to open up. He had no idea what he was going to find on the other side, but he had to be able to control himself.

Well, the first surprise came almost immediately after he stepped out of the elevator. Two police officers were in the middle of bringing Captain Singh - or maybe not Captain - into the bullpen like any other criminal.

"Look, I don't know nothin', so I ain't sayin' nothing…" the man was in the middle of saying.

Barry had to look away to hide his shocked face. "Woah…" he rubbed his temple. The moment he raised his head again, he came face to face with Deadshot. "Okay, Deadshot what…" he immediately took a step back.

Deadshot mockingly laughed then became dead serious. "That's not funny, Allen. I hate that nickname. Okay, look, I know I'm not... I'm not the best shot in the department, but…"

But someone else started to laugh. "Not the best?" Iris West came striding out of the offices, surprising Barry even more to find her as a COP cop. "Lawton, you are the worst shot in the entire department. Hey, why don't you book Singh, and I'll be in there in a moment?"

Singh sighed, clearly agitated with them both. "Whatever you say, partner. Oh, and just for the record, my marksmanship proficiency ratings went up by two points last month. All right?"

Iris had to hold back her laughter again. "Two points, woo…"

"You're Detective West…" Barry's words just came tumbling out his mouth. Oh he was sure if Harry were near he would've given one of his murderous stares. Barry knew he needed to get it together already.

Iris suddenly smiled with a trace of...was that sympathy? Barry wasn't quite sure. "Hey, you know the Captain said you didn't have to come in today, right?"

"Uh...yeah, but…" Barry's eyes flickered to the side as he came up with a reasonable excuse. Why wouldn't he - or his doppelganger - come into work today? He rubbed his face when no excuses came to mind.

Iris put a hand on his arm, still with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Barry, you can go home. No one here faults you. We know the day…"

"...the day…?" Barry repeated, still lost as ever.

"West!" Maritza Palayta came down the staircase with a file in hand. "Do you know where the hell Thawne was? I've been looking - oh, Barry, hi," her face softened much like Iris had.

Barry now had to get over the fact that Maritza was also there...not in prison. "You're a cop?" the words just tumbled out of his mouth.

Maritza gave a brief look at his question and laughed it off. "Right. Let's keep me in the courtroom where I belong, okay?"

"You're a D.A.?" Barry really had to keep himself in check or this was already over. _Oh this is too much. Will Belén be popping out anytime soon?_ Okay, _that_ idea made Barry grin a little. What would Earth 2 Belén be like?

"I was just telling Barry that he didn't have to come in today…" and now Iris was giving a stern look at Maritza, her hands on her hips, "...just like you didn't have to."

A flash of hurt rushed through Maritza but just like that it was gone. "Nonsense, my sister wouldn't want me to miss my job that she knew I loved so much. Anyways, could you tell me where Thawne was? I know you were making out with him thirty minutes ago."

Iris cleared her throat, obviously embarrassed by the accusation. "I wasn't. But...if you need him...he's downstairs."

Maritza smirked. "Mhm. I'll see you both later," she said and walked off.

Something around Iris' wrist began to bleep, and Barry recognized it was the same watch Harry often wore. "That's so weird," she tinkered with it.

"What's that?" Barry, for instinctive motions, took a step back.

"My meta-human alert app," Iris briefly looked at him. "It thinks that you're a meta-human. That is so weird."

"Yeah, it must be on the fritz," Barry looked away guiltily.

Iris shrugged. "Yeah. We have to go. My Dad's show's in a bit. You're coming right? Or...you know, he totally would understand if you didn't feel up for it…"

Barry wished that whatever she was talking about would just be said so that he could learn to act how his doppelganger would. It was heavily annoying.

~ 0 ~

A bank robber was mercilessly thrown against a shelf. He shook his head from the pain and scrambled to get up, of course when he saw the white-haired woman coming after him his legs felt week and went back down.

"Come on," went the woman with an edgy, crispy voice. Her blue leather boots clicked against the cemented ground. "Where do you people get off robbing Central City's Royal Bank? This town belongs to Zoom, and those of us he deems worthy enough to enforce his will."

The man didn't know what to do against her. Killer Frost hardly ever left her victims alive. In his attempt to make it out alive, he pushed the bag of money towards her. "H-here, take it."

Killer Frost grinned and bent down to dip a perfectly manicured hand into the bag. "Thanks a million. Or should I say two?" she took out a wad of the money. Her icy blue eyes caught the man trying to make a run for it and effortlessly threw a shard of ice through his back, killing him instantly. Kind of weary, she got up and moved to the second man still fearfully inching his way to an escape. She grabbed him by the shirt and picked him up.

"No, wait!" cried the man. "Don't hurt me!"

"Hurt you?" Killer Frost mocked him. "I just want to give you a kiss." And indeed she did kiss him with her dark blue lips that proved to be as cold as she was. The man's entire face froze up and died before he hit the ground.

She missed the third man, in her excitement, who was about to shoot her. Thankfully, a blast of fire ended that pretty quick.

"Now what did I tell you about watching that behind?" Deathstorm smugly inquired, his flames still encircling him much like Earth 1's Firestorm did.

Killer Frost smirk and walked up to him. "I thought that was your job." She kissed him and unlike her last victim, her ice made no effect on him whatsoever. "Good thing the only man I can kiss is the only one I want to."

"HEY!"

The two metahumans broke apart to look across them. They stiffened at the sight of Datura.

"If you're done playing with these-" she gently let her boot's heel touch one of the dead men, "-playthings, there's a job to do. We've got breachers and you know what happens to those…"

Killer Frost's white eyebrows raised. "Ooh, you know my favorite thing is to kill people from other Earths."

"Yes, how fortunate for you. Remember the rules - I will be watching you." She pointed a gloved finger at them both. "And you know what happens when you disappoint me." She flexed her hand for them to get the idea, and of course they did.

Neither wanted to be siphoned of their powers.

" _Go_ ," Datura stepped aside and snapped her fingers. As of late, she had less of patience with anyone. The city had come to notice the absence of her long time partner - Poison Ivy.

~ 0 ~

Barry came to the bittersweet realization that his parents were _alive_ and well on this Earth. Unfortunately, neither were home because he'd given them a trip as a gift for their anniversary. It just left him in his childhood home. As it turned out, Iris and Joe still lived together, and more importantly, right across the street from them. While Iris got changed in her home, he was left in his, and...there were so many memories he wished he could have with his parents but were that of his doppelganger' were various portraits of him as a young child, a teenager, and adult...and with his parents. It seemed so perfectly...normal.

His heart ached for it.

He wandered up the staircase and, just like his childhood home, he found his room at the first open door. There were no childhood toys except for a few tinkering chemistry sets here and there. He smiled knowing that maybe he and his doppleganger weren't all that different.

Well, except for clothing style. _That_ was totally different.

He came to a stop when a portrait caught his attention. _Finally_ , he started to smiling like an idiot. His hand carefully lifted the portrait and traced it with a finger.

It was his doppelganger carrying Earth 2's Belén on his back, both smiling. It looked like they were in a park, and Barry dared to think it was Belén's favorite park in the city. She seemed to like the same fountain from their Earth too.

"At least something's stayed the same," Barry was glad to see. From a first glance it looked like E-2 Belén was exactly the same as his Belén...except for her hair. Instead of the usual ombre-blonde he knew (and loved), this Belén had dark brown hair that fell in curls.

He put the portrait down and hurriedly began to get 'changed' for whatever it was Iris was dragging him to. Before he left the room, though, his shoe stepped over something on the ground that gave a loud 'crack!' in response. He quickly looked down to see another portrait, faced down.

"Barry! C'mon!" he suddenly heard Iris' downstairs. Did she have a key to the place?

In his scramble, he quickly picked up the portrait and threw it under the bed…

" _Wait_!" his eyes blinked rapidly when the actual picture registered in his mind. Just like that, he dove under the bed to retrieve the portrait.

"Barry!" Iris called from the hallway. "C'mon! We're going to be late!"

"In here!" his muffled voice called.

Iris hurried in, wearing a formal green and black dress and looked around the room with a wrinkled nose. "Barry, you really gotta clean up in here." Barry didn't hear her since he was much more focused on the portrait in his hands. "What are you doing under your bed?" Iris frowned and moved over.

Barry finally emerged from the bed, but his eyes were glued to the portrait in his hands. He had never felt his heart raced more than now. His mouth was opened and his eyes were widened.

"What are you looking at?" Iris came behind him to see the portrait. "Oh…" suddenly her playfulness was gone.

 _My doppleganger wins_ , Barry thought with the biggest grin on his face. Because, in his hands he held a wedding picture of his doppelganger and Belén.

"Oh my God…" Barry didn't even know what to say that would cover all his feelings at the moment.

Iris understood but for a different reason. She put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly. "I know it's hard, Barry. Especially today."

"Hard?" Barry whipped his head in her direction, suddenly confused. "That's not how I would describe it-"

"Yeah, I know. I'll never understand what it's like to lose the love of my life because Eddie and I aren't even married. I know," Iris took the picture from Barry and walked over to a table, completely missing Barry's horrified face behind her. She gingerly put the portrait back in its place.

"E-excuse me?" was all that came from his mind.

Iris turned around and sighed. "Look, I know today's hard since it's Belén's death anniversary but it's like Maritza said...Belén wouldn't want us to miss out on the things we love."

"Wait, _what_ -"

"And I know for a fact she wouldn't want you to be so sad all the time."

"Wait, wait, wait, Iris...she's….she's…" Barry really wanted to get his thoughts in order just so that he could say the right words. Unfortunately, Iris - being under the guise he was _her_ best friend - continued to speak about how he should 'move on' and whatnot while dragging him to Joe's 'show'.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin and Jay worked hard on the broken portal with Belén tinkering in the background with some tools. She came back holding a wrench for Jay, then proceeded to throw Caitlin a sour glance.

Caitlin sighed. "You can throw me all the looks you want but I am _not_ letting you practice. The Azalea needs her rest too."

Belén rolled her eyes, huffed and meant to walk away when Joe came in.

"How's it going?" he asked the two.

"Uh, slow, which is not a good adjective when it comes to a speed cannon," Jay stopped for a moment to look at their work.

"Well, we got another problem…" Joe regretted to inform.

In the next five minutes, Joe had shown them a civilian video in the cortex of a new metahuman terrorizing the city. It appeared the man had extra strength and he cursed the ground with his bare fists.

"His name is Adam Fells, but he calls himself Geomancer," Jay said once he recognized the man in the video.

"Br-breecher?" Belén croaked out.

"Stop talking," Caitlin pointed a finger at her.

"No, he's not a breecher," Jay answered. "Fells died on my Earth. This must be his Earth-1 doppelganger."

"Well, at least now, we know his name. Might be a little easier to track him down," Joe shrugged.

"Yeah, but with Barry gone, how are we gonna stop him even if we do find him?" Caitlin asked.

Belén cleared her throat and raised a finger.

"Veronica would kill me," Joe nearly laughed.

Belén glowered.

"I wouldn't recommend it either," Caitlin shook her head. "You're barely getting back to normal."

"What about Shivhan?" asked Joe. "Where is she?"

"She went back to her neighborhood to close things up in her apartment," Caitlin explained. "She's moving here for the time being now."

"Alright fine, we've got Jay. You could shoot yourself up with that stuff. What was it? Velocity…" Joe waited for someone ti finish the sentence for him.

"Velocty-6," Jay did in the end, but he wasn't happy about it. "I cannot take V-6.

"But it gave you your speed back long enough to get that bullet out of Wells,saved his life."

Jay was getting agitated and both women could see it. "Joe, don't ask me to take Velocity-6 again."

Joe tried to contain himself but his patience was reaching the limits. "Look, Jay, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but Barry is protecting your world, and our world needs a Flash right about now."

Belén purposely cleared her throat.

"We said no!" Caitlin and Joe exclaimed together. With a growl, Belén stalked off. After a moment or two, Joe left as well.

Jay took a moment to himself before facing Caitlin. "Caitlin, I like the way you look at me with warmth and pride, and I'm not... I'm not worthy of those."

Caitlin smiled out of confusion. "Yes, you are."

"No, I did a terrible thing, Caitlin. When my world's particle accelerator went off, I became a speedster. I became the fastest man alive, only... only it wasn't enough for me," Jay said, and once more looked away from Caitlin. "I wasn't... I wasn't fast enough. So I figured with my scientific background, I could increase my powers, and... I did."

Caitlin blinked. "So you've taken Velocity-6 before?"

"Yes. But there were some unforeseen side effects…"

It only took a second for Caitlin to understand what he was implying . "This is why you didn't want Barry to take it or even know about it. Datura never siphoned your speed, did she? This is what's making you sick. Velocity-6 is killing you."

"It was better for you to think that she did instead of admitting I did something stupid. But I wasn't lying when I said that stuff was dangerous," Jay sighed. "I've made so many mistakes."

Caitlin didn't falter and put a hand on his arm. "You have something now that you've never had before. Me."

~ 0 ~

Dead. She was _dead_. This was all that Barry could think off as Iris brought him into Jitters. Not even Joe West the famous jazz singer could catch his attention.

How could _Belén_ be dead? That wasn't...that could _not_ be right. But then he started to remember the sympathetic smiles from Iris and Maritza...and Maritza's words…

"Hi, Dad," Iris greeted her father with a hug.

"Hey, baby," Joe kissed her head then glanced at Barry. "Is he okay?"

"I told him you would understand if he didn't show up, but…"

Barry was once more subjected into a sympathetic smile. _She's_ **actually** _dead,_ he thought.

Nope, Earth 2 lost.

"Y-yeah…" was all Barry could say for the moment. He now had the biggest urge to go home and see _his_ Bells. She was probably mad as hell with him for leaving in the first place but she was mad as hell and _alive_.

"Look, I have to go back…" Joe made a motion to the small stage set up.

"Yeah, of course, good luck," Iris smiled at him and took Barry to the couch chairs further down the room.

Outside Jitters stood Killer Frost, Deathstorm and Datura.

"Sensors indicate the breacher is in there," Datura pointed them to the front doors. "Get them out by all means."

"What's a breacher doing here in the first place?" Killer Frost thought to ask.

"I'm sorry, did I give you leeway for a question? _No_ , I didn't. Get in there before I decide to take your pretty little frost from you."

Deathstorm pulled Killer Frost towards the coffee shop. From behind Datura waited until they had busted into the place, before throwing a vine up to the second floor windows. She had a pretty good idea of who the breachers were and she was dying to get some revenge. She had come up with the _perfect_ revenge plan.

"Don't stop singing, old man," Deathstorm called to the shocked Joe.

"That's our song," Killer Frost picked a lollipop from a table.

Barry's eyes widened but at this point he was so weary with the unfortunate surprises thrown his way. So not only was his girlfriend dead on this world but his best friends were _evil_?

"So which one of you lounge lizards is in the wrong universe?" Killer Frost, wearing Caitlin Snow's face, taunted the fearful humans. She bit the rest of her lollipop and let the cane fall. "Hmm? Show of hands. Don't be shy." But of course everyone quaked with every step she took.

Barry knew he would have to act, but to go against someone that looked like one of his best friends was just foul play. From the corner of his eye he could see Iris discreetly pulling her gun from her bag. That really wouldn't end well.

"No, no, no," he whispered to her and tried making her put it away. Iris' eyebrows knitted together, of course confused.

Killer Frost turned to them because of their commotion. She donned a flirtatious smile at Barry, much like Poison Ivy. "Hey, handsome. You got something you want to tell me?"

"No," Barry did not hesitate to answer.

"No?" Killer Frost put her hands on her hips and released a breath, mocking a pout. "Baby-" she turned back to Deathstorm, "-no one's talking to me."

Deathstorm raised his flaming hands. "What if I make 'em scream?"

Iris jumped from her chair and took aim on the two. "CCPD! Everyone get out of here!" she instructed the crowd who did take the warning. "You are both under arrest."

Killer Frost almost laughed and walked forwards. "Ladies first."

Barry's heart thumped wildly as he jumped from his chair. "Caitlin!"

Killer Frost raised one eyebrow. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."

"But that is your name, isn't it? Your real name?" Barry could see a faint trace of his Caitlin somewhere along that pale face of hers. "Please, look... I know you. Don't do this."

Both Iris and Joe looked at him like he'd finally lost it.

Killer Frost returned with everything that made her, _her_. "If you knew me at all, you would know that I hate the name Caitlin. I'm Killer Frost!" her hands wrapped up in billowing icy smoke. She threw icicles their way but Barry turned over a sofa chair and let them pierce through that instead.

"Go, all right. Go, go!" he told Iris in a hurry.

Iris got up and meant to run with her father when Deathstorm threw flaming bolts at them.

"Iris, look out!" Joe pushed Iris out of the way and took the blow.

"Dad!"

Deathstorm was about to attack again, towards Iris, but a vine crashed through the window and threw him against a wall. Killer Frost's white hair flipped with her as she turned to her boyfriend's sprawled body in confusion.

Datura jumped in through the broken window and, shocking, landed just in front of Iris. "No," she spoke like a mother scolding her children. "I said get the breacher! You do _not_ go after _them_."

Deathstorm, in his rage, moved to attack her but Barry acted faster and sped them all out of the place. The three Earth 2 metahumans found themselves at a town square pond.

"There's the breacher!" Datura groaned, slapping a gloved hand to her masked face. "This wouldn't happen if Poison Ivy was here. You're both a bunch of idiots!"

"But she's not, is she?" Deathstorm snarled at her. "Where _is_ she, hmm?"

"Don't play with me, Deathstorm, you know what'll happen," Datura then pointed them at Barry. "Him. Get _him_."

There, none of three had any disagreements.

"You shouldn't have come here, Flash. You're in _my_ territory now," Datura had a promising smile on her face. She _was_ telling the truth after all. Earth 2 was _her_ domain, not his. "Get him."

Barry had his prime opponent but between her and him were Killer Frost and Deathstorm - also known as his best friends. "I don't want to hurt you…"

Killer Frost nearly laughed at the absurdity of his words. "Trust me, you won't," her voice shook with a new power. She threw ice fields towards him but he sped away to dodge them all.

At the same time, Datura made her own departure.

Killer Frost hadn't been able to hit Barry once and growled. "Kill him," she looked expectantly at Deathstorm.

He burst into flames and started throwing bolts of fire towards Barry. The speedster metahuman made a run around the place and stopped in front of a golden statue resembling Jay in his Flash suit.

"Come on. God, this is making me so hot," Killer Frost smirked as she watched.

Barry pulled off the helmet off the statue and used it to deflect incoming fire bolts from Deathstorm. One of the deflected bolts went directly to Killer Frost, throwing her onto the ground.

Deathstorm desisted from the fight to go pick her up. "This ain't over, breacher!"

Barry counted on it but he just watched them go. He turned his attention to the remaining metahuman he thought was still there. He was severely upset to find Datura had escaped like nothing.

Only Iris' voice managed to bring him back from his plans on finding Datura. Joe was still hurt and he would be needing medical attention.

~0~

When Harry found out what occurred he was, unsurprisingly, furious. "Killer Frost and Deathstorm…."

"You know them?" Cisco asked grimly. He couldn't believe Caitlin's and Ronnie's doppelgangers were metas serving under Zoom's dominion.

"More importantly, they know you now; they know that you're here!" Harry shouted at the affected Barry.

"So Caitlin and Ronnie's doppelgangers are evil? Those are some dope names, though," Cisco mumbled.

Harry paid no attention to him at the moment. "This was supposed to be a surgical mission, Allen. Find Zoom's lair. Rescue Jesse. Get in, get out, not get involved!"

Barry was not here to be lectured like a child. "All right, well, look, I am involved, okay? Joe's in the hospital. They nearly killed him!"

This made no difference for Harry. "No, he isn't. Joe West, your Joe West, is alive and safe on your Earth, so is Caitlin, so is Iris! These people, Barry, they're mirror reflections. As far as your life is concerned, they don't exist. Killer Frost, Deathstorm, they know that you're here. Then it's not long before Zoom does too, and then my daughter's dead, and that's on you!"

While it stung Barry, he did not give up on his stance. "Jesse still has time, okay? Iris and Joe need me now. I have to get back to them!"

"She is not Iris!"

"She is Iris!" Barry snapped. "Okay, she is to me! No matter what universe I'm in, these people are my family! I would think by now you should get how important family is. I'm going, Wells. I have to."

Cisco looked between the two men with a grim face. To him they were wasting time arguing.

"We need to find Zoom!" Harry insisted just as Barry turned to leave again.

"You want to find him? Fine," Barry turned sideways, "Tell us where to find Datura, then." Harry sighed and just stared at him. This was about to turn into the same argument from earth 1. "I saw her tonight and if anyone can get us to Zoom it's her and you know it!"

"We can't…" Harry wanted nothing more than to keep that woman away from them, but no one could understand why.

"I mean, it would be easier…" Cisco spoke up, earning himself a sharpened stare from Harry. "She's not fast. She leaves traces behind."

"We'd have even more ways of finding her if Harry would just tell us who she _is,_ " Barry snapped, once more raging over the fact Harry refused to tell them who was Datura in reality. Harry claimed it was pointless and that this time he was actually trying to do _good_ by them."I mean if you would tell us we could search for her right here in the lab but no, you don't want to!"

Harry rubbed his face. Part of him wanted to just tell Barry and make him shut up already, but the other part knew that would be a tactical error. He was sure if Barry got a look at the real face of Datura he wouldn't fight and that would mean he was in her hands. "I'm not saying anything. Ramon, find Zoom now."

Barry shook his head and sped out, leaving Cisco to deal with Harry's attitude.

~0~

On Earth 1, the Geomancer was making his appearance known by rumbling the streets. No police cars could catch him despite not having true speed. His strength covered him.

A police car swerved into the street just where Geomancer had stopped. Veronica and Joe emerged from either sides with their guns in hand.

"CCPD! It's over, Fells!" Joe shouted.

Geomancer merely smirked. "No offense to you boys - and lady - in blue, but I'm waiting on the man in red."

"Oh please, all this just to get the attention of the Flash? How bored are you?" Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Not bored enough to wonder whether the Flash will show. I've been causing tremors for days and no sign of him. I think he's gone. What is it they say in boxing? Let's get ready to rumble." Geomancer raised his fists in the air, about to plummet them into the ground when a speedster came in and threw him back.

Both Veronica and Joe were stunned to see Jay on the site, donning his version of a suit.

"I heard you were looking for The Flash…" Jay stepped forwards.

~0~

From the lab, Caitlin monitored the vitals of the man, with Belén. "Looks like the Velocity-7 is working. Now, go get him!" Caitlin paused to admire her work then turned to Belén...only to find the woman gone. With a sigh, Caitlin rubbed her face.

Cisco would be deeply ashamed of her for falling for the same trick twice.

~0~

Geomancer was about to do his usual trick when Jay ripped his helmet off his head and turned the lightning bolts on the sides of it to create whirlwind of force that threw Geomancer back.

Joe, stunned, lowered his gun. "That's a new one."

"aha…" Veronica nodded her head slowly.

"Is that all you have?" Geomancer snorted.

Jay remained his usual, cool, self. "You don't ever want to see all I have." He meant to speed up to Geomancer but suddenly his legs slowed down and toppled over himself.

"The Velocity-7's wearing off!" Caitlin worriedly exclaimed.

Geomancer grabbed Jay from the head. "You've heard what an eight on the Richter scale can do to a city. Imagine what it's gonna do to your skull."

But then Belén swooped in and smacked him back with a trusty vine. Veronica nearly fell forwards at the sight of her daughter.

"Bel - Joe!" Veronica turned on her partner.

"We said no!" went the man in defence.

Even though it hurt like hell, Belén blew her famous poison towards Geomancer. For extra measure, Joe started to shoot as well. He could see Belén straining herself. Geomancer couldn't take both blows and so he had to make a run for it.

Veronica immediately ran for her daughter while Joe went for Jay.

"You hurt?" he helped Jay up to his feet.

Jay groaned from bruises he was sure would be forming along his body. "My pride...and my body. Pride and my body."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Veronica's voice carried over. She was pulling Belén towards them, the ombre- blonde wearing a scowl across her face. "We told you no - Caitlin told you no! You're still out of commission!"

"Whatever," Belén rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so you can't speak but you can say that?" Veronica continued scolding but Belén was flatout ignoring it.

~0~

With earth 2 Joe West dead - at the hands of Killer Frost and Deathstorm - Iris was itching to get them both locked up. Knowing this, Barry couldn't leave her on her own, not when he could help. Cisco, much to Harry's fury, helped come up with something that would hopefully help against Killer Frost. The two earth 1 metahumans strode into the station where Iris and Lawton were getting ready to head out.

Cisco could only see half of Iris but was already amazed by the similarities of her doppelganger. "Oh, Iris-"

Iris in return whipped out a weapon against him, a taser, and Cisco jumped back. "Do I know you?"

Cisco was scrunched up in fear. "Does she know me?" he asked Barry.

Barry sighed and came up with the only excuse that would eliminate second and third questions from Iris. "This is Cisco Ramon...one of Belén's old friends."

It worked.

Iris automatically lowered her weapon and adopted a warm smile. "Did you work at Mercury Labs with her too?"

Cisco blinked and looked to Barry for help but he was also taken by surprise. So this earth 2 Belén had been a scientist of some sort? Hm, why did that sound familiar?

Because Barry did not answer, Cisco came up with something himself. "Yes...I did. Love my Bells!" Iris made yet another face of confusion. "I built a weapon that I think we can use to neutralize, um, Killer Frost's powers," he motioned to the black case he held.

Iris didn't hesitate to trust and went to take the case from him. "Great, thanks. I'll take it."

Cisco stepped back and held his case closer. "Uh, please, I should really take this."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "No offence but my trust in Mercury Labs tech and employees vanished a year ago when my best friend died. I'm taking this myself."

In his shock, Cisco let the case easily be taken by her. "E-excuse you? Did...did you just say...Bells…"

Iris sighed. "Alright fellas, I understand it's a hard day - especially now that my Dad shares the anniversary with Belén - but I've got a job to do. One of my snitches gave me a lead on Killer Frost and Deathstorm's location. We're gonna bring them in."

Cisco threw an accusing glance at Barry but kept it bottled up for another time. How could Barry not mention that Belén was dead in this world? That was just rude. "Look, I'm the only one who knows how to operate that device so you have to take me. I'm better than Mercury Labs employees alright?"

"Yeah well I think anyone now is better than that place," Iris shrugged. "I can't put a civilian in harm's way."

Cisco blew an air from his mouth. "Look, I've seen fire, and I've seen rain. I can handle myself, okay, _Detective_ West." He then snatched the case from Iris' hands and dared her to take it away.

"Fine. Lawton, let's move," Iris walked past him and Barry. Lawton moved behind, a little cclumsily.

"Uh, dude?!" Cisco smacked Barry on the arm. "What the hell!? How could you not tell me about Bells!?"

"Excuse me, I'm still trying to get over it myself," Barry ran a hand through his hair. "The Belén in this world worked at Mercury Labs and that...why does that sound familiar?"

"Didn't Harry mention that he thought Datura worked in Mercury Labs before she went all siphoner?"

Barry's eyes widened. "What if that's related?" before Cisco could question the relevancy of it, Barry started leaving. "What if somehow Datura had something to do with whatever caused Bells to die?"

"Well, then maybe that could explain why she now wants the Bells of _our_ world…" Cisco said, somewhat sure. "Maybe Belén was a metahuman here too."

"I'm going to find out! I'm sure my doppelganger has something on them in his lab!" Barry started going up the staircase. "You help Iris! I'll be there soon, I promise."

Because Cisco saw no point in stopping him, he agreed and left Barry there.

Everything in the lab was almost the same as his, thank God. Barry went speeding back and forth looking for anything regarding Mercury Labs and Belén. He found some papers here and there but nothing conclusive until he came across the online file.

It was one thing to hear that Belén was dead, but another was to see the reports and pictures.

Annah-Belén Palayta, or Annah-Belén Allen as was her technical legal name, had indeed worked as a scientist in Mercury Labs up until last year when an unexpected explosion in her department had taken her life. There were various evidence samples taken from the site but no body was recovered. As Barry looked on, his eyes teared up. He just couldn't believe it. It was as if he was reading someone else's case, and while that was technically true he couldn't think of it as someone else...it was _Belén._

Barry was about to close everything down until he eyed one detail…

Somewhere along the crime scene, one lone datura had been recovered. Barry Barry raged at the sight and threw everything off the desk. He would not let Datura get away with it. Using his speeding powers, he went through every last detail on the metahuman, putting puzzles together to figure a way to find her.

~0~

A poisonous garden surrounded the greenhouse where one lone metahuman was presumed to be residing in. Barry balled his fists on his sides, his eyes narrowing on said building. He held his breath and sped right into the greenhouse which turned out to be bigger than he assumed. He went throughout the entire area searching and searching, but never found much. He did, however, find curious things belonging to his doppelganger, Maritza's...Veronica's and even Rayan and David.

"What the…?" Barry stepped back from everything he found. As soon as he did, the lights went out. Barry quickly scanned the area as best as he could in the dark.

There were swishing noises up above and Barry was sure he could see a figure swinging from one metal pipe to the other.

"I know it's you!" Barry started calling upwards. The figure stopped and sat down on a rail. "Turn the lights on and show your face, Datura."

"Ever since you took Ivy from me, I've not found the reason to keep the lights on," Datura boredly explained from above. Barry squinted his eyes to see her better but for the life of him could not. "She needed solar energy to keep herself strong, but-"

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Barry shouted frantically. "You killed the Belén of this world! Show your face you coward!"

A small laughed flew from above. "You think I don't show you my true identity because I'm scared?"

"Why else? No metahuman of this world every bothered to hide their faces," Barry gritted his teeth, getting half a mind to speed her down himself.

"Honey, if I don't show you my face it's not because I fear you. Let's call it...sentimental value."

"Take your crap and-"

"Ooooh, the Flash can use colorful words. I'm impressed. All that Zoom's done and _I'm_ the one who gets under your skin?" Datura laughed again and from his spot Barry could see her head dangling from the rail she was sitting on. "Same old story, I guess."

"Lady, I don't know what story you're reading, but this isn't it. We're here for Jesse, but if I can put you in jail in the process then it'll be a win-win for all of us," Barry started moving towards the figure.

Datura laughed softly and stood up on her rail. "You know, ever since Ivy was taken, I've thought about the different ways I can get revenge-"

"Hm, really?" Barry asked boredly, stopping when he heard her swishing again. She was on the move above.

"I thought to myself 'what's the best way to hurt you and your partner?' and then...it came to me."

Barry took a step back when he finally saw her figure land on the floor.

"I'm _wearing_ it," Datura's cold voice rang after a moment. "Everything I could ever use to hurt you is right _on_ me. It's _in_ me. It's _me_."

"You're going to tell me where Zoom is," Barry scowled. "Before or after you tell me why you killed Belén, I don't care."

"I didn't kill her…" Datura emerged from the darkness, this time her mask gone from her face to reveal her familiar features, "...I _am_ her."

Despite being at his top health, Barry felt like the air in him had suddenly vanished. His feet stumbled back a couple steps. He tried to speak but no words could form. His mind was completely frazzled.

Datura's red lips curled into an amused smile. She extended her hands forwards, wrists together. "Do you want to lock me up now?" her taunting voice couldn't register in Barry's ears. "Here-" she stepped forwards, her gloved hands nearly touching his face, "-take me to prison." But Barry could not move just yet...and this only caused her to revel in her revenge. "Can't do it?" she laughed and swung her hands to her chest.

The smile on her face was neither sweet nor warmth - it was _malicious_. It just _didn't...fit._ None of it did.

Belén - or, Datura - smiled with her vibrant red lipstick covering her lips. The black and red body suit gave off the malicious vibe she wanted to portray. Barry had seen her suit so many times but this time...it hit different. It was still a long body suit with exposed sides and halter neck. The bright red, elastic waist corset covering her exposed sides and black fishnet band over it was still there... Her squared cutout sleeves still went down to her wrists, tucked underneath black gloves. She still worse a red, circular chain belt around her hips. She still wore the red heeled boots...

Her dark brunette haired was curled and pushed behind her shoulders with one lone purple and red datura sitting on the side of her head. Her usual warm brown eyes were dark and mischievous. The aura of superiority that surrounded her sickened Barry.

She was Datura...but Datura could _not_ be Belén. She just couldn't be.

Barry pulled back the mask of his suit and rubbed his face, hoping that when he would look again this would turn out to be a trick of some sort. "No, no, no, no...NO!"

Datura didn't flinch under his shout, instead she just tried not to laugh again...barely.

"You can't be _her_! You - you _can't_! You're not - you're B-Belén! Not...you can't be!" Barry was about to touch her but an instinct snapped his hand back.

"Fight me now, Flash," Datura challenged, knowing fully well that he wouldn't. Barry shook his head. She moved towards him but he kept moving back. "Do it! Hurt me like you said you would! C'MON!"

Barry felt an overwhelming power wave over him. He opened his mouth but she kept shouting at him to fight her - enjoying his pain obviously - until Barry decided he couldn't do it. He couldn't face her. He barely had time to remember Poison Ivy's warning that he wouldn't be able to fight her once he _knew_...

Datura's laughter echoed in the greenhouse after Barry had sped out of there.

~ 0 ~

Cisco regretted ever wondering what his doppelganger was up to. Surprise, surprise, he was evil just like Caitlin's and Ronnie's dopplegangers...and what was more - he ruled over Killer Frost and Deathstorm. In fact, the two were scared to death of Reverb.

That was a sight to see.

But of course with Reverb's superb, advanced powers, who wouldn't be?

Cisco couldn't wait for the moment to get Barry in there. He wasn't sure which of the three metahumans they had in front of them would attack first and he wasn't itching to find out.

Of course maybe they should have thought their numbers better than this.

Barry swooped in - disoriented from his earlier encounter - and hoped to bring down the metahumans with Cisco's help here and there. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do but he did know that he needed to go see Belén right now, _his_ Belén.

"And who the hell are you?" Iris was tired of meeting different masked people that night.

"Look, Detective, just get out of here, all right?" Barry turned to her, begging her to just listen for once.

"No, not without them," Iris pulled the gun Cisco'd been carrying and shot directly towards Killer Frost and Deathstorm, only getting her shoulder. In retaliation, Deathstorm threw fire her way but Barry sped her behind some barrels.

"Stay here!" he told her once more.

Deathstorm garnered more flames as Barry returned to the 'playing field'. "Round two," Deathstorm smirked and started to fight again.

Meanwhile, Cisco battled his own doppelganger through words. "Look, mirror-mirror, I already told you I'm not going to the dark side with you."

Lawton came screaming and shooting at Reverb...only to not get a single bullet in the metahuman. Reverb blinked behind his goggles.

"You're a rotten shot." He shot his energy wind and blasted Lawton against the wall, knocking him out. "I'm not."

Cisco gawked. "Are you telling me I can do that?"

"I can show you," Reverb offered.

Barry's cry made Cisco turn to see the speedster being thrown against a wall then to the ground, and if it wasn't enough Deathstorm kept shooting and shooting fire his way.

"No!" but before Cisco could run to help, Reverb grabbed and punched him.

He then joined Deathstorm and shot his own powers at Barry.

"Stop, both of you!" Killer Frost stumbled as she got up. "Zoom wanted him alive! You know what Zoom will do if you don't obey him!" but neither man listened to her.

Deathstorm suddenly gasped when a blip of black appeared behind. Zoom had jabbed a hand through his chest.

"NO!" Killer Frost screamed and fell back to her knees.

Zoom stepped over Deathstorm's corpse and walked up to Reverb who'd shrunken in fear. "What did I say you should do if you encountered a speedster?"

Reverb looked down. "Leave him unharmed."

"Does this look unharmed to you?"

Because Barry was groaning on the ground, unable to get up for the moment.

Reverb didn't answer. Zoom killed him in a snap then zipped back to Killer Frost, grabbing her by the neck. "I'm happy to see at least one of you knows their place. Fail me and I'll have you siphoned and killed."

Now when he sped away, he didn't do it empty handed...he took Barry with him as well.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I felt so evil for putting Barry through that _but_ this is the turn that sets a lot of things in motion for this story and even the next. And did yall catch that specific image Barry saw when they crossed to Earth 2? I'm so excited for that bit! It's coming up in a few chapters!


	20. Gone Girl

**Earth 2: Day of the Particle Accelerator, Mercury Labs.**

" _Belén_ _?"_

 _A dark-haired woman turned around from a white board, her heavy curls bouncing as she did. "You're not supposed to be here," Earth 2 Belén pointed at her husband with her open marker._

 _Earth 2 Barry walked into the lab holding something behind his back, something that immediately caught his wife's attention. "Well since I'm not from STAR Labs_ _ **,**_ _Dr. McGee had no problem authorizing my entrance. I've got an early anniversary present for you, Belén. Do you wanna see…?"_

 _Belén chucked the market behind her and rushed forwards. "Heck yes! Anything to get away from these awful calculations."_

 _Barry chuckled as he set down a cubed-shaped present. It was wrapped in emerald green wrapping and was of decent height. "Your fault for becoming a scientist."_

" _If I hadn't done that I would've never met you," Belén nudged him as a reminder._

" _True, I'm not much of an aerial dancer fan. I would've missed your shows if you'd stayed in that program."_

" _Exactly," Belén bopped him on the nose, chuckling when Barry stole a quick kiss from her "Now I've got glorious toxins to examine."_

" _What a dream," Barry chuckled with her. "So I'm deeply sorry for interrupting your work but it just came in and I was really excited."_

" _Well far be it from me to turn your gifts away," Belén hummed sarcastically and began to tear the wrapping off the box. Her eyes widened when she saw two, purple and red Datura flowers sitting neatly inside a glass box. "You found some!?" she looked at her husband in amazement._

 _Barry flushed a red and nodded his head. She'd long ago expressed how much she would love to examine Daturas and see if every part of their biology truly was toxins. If not, then it meant they could possibly do some experiments for the better of the public. Plus, Daturas were_ _Belén's favorite flower. The problem was that the city didn't exactly sell these poisonous flowers - hardly any store in the nearby cities did. But Barry had found one store. One store that would sell them to him and had to get them._ _"You know I'd do anything for you,_ _Belén_ _."_

 _Now it was Belén's turn to turn a soft pink tinge on her face. "I love it. Thank you!"_

 _Barry kissed her cheek, loving her reactions. "You just have to be careful with it, alright? They're not illegal in the city but they are highly discouraged for their poison."_

" _You know me, Barry…" Belén started opening the glass casing, "...I'm always careful. I'd never let it hurt anyone."_

" _Yeah, I know," Barry watched her fondly as she took a whiff of the flowers._

 _Belén straightened up and turned to him. "You're incredible for this, thank you."_

 _Barry reached to tuck a dark curl behind Belén's ear. "I love you," he leaned in and softly kissed her._

 **One Year Later.**

Barry refused to believe that his end would come because he could not figure a way out of his new holding cell. Zoom had stuck him in his evil 'lair' that really resembled an old style mountain cave with dirt for ground and hollow rooms. The only good thing that'd come out of being kidnapped was finding Jesse Wells...along with another prisoner in a metal clasped mask. Jesse watched Barry try to feel the clear wall of his cell, assuming to be searching for a weak point. She was about to tell him there was no point when a face popped in her view.

Jesse gasped and jumped back, her face contorting to fear.

Datura laughed. "Scared yah. Again."

Jesse whimpered and continued going back until her back hit the stone wall. Datura retracted a couple steps, blips of her laugh still slipping her lips. All this Barry watched in silence; a disapproving, horrified silence. He still could not process who she was and he doubted time would ever allow him to do so.

"Belén?"

Without the mask on her face, Jesse saw Datura roll her eyes in a casual manner that didn't befit the face of the usual cold and sinister meta she'd come to know.

"Belén, please…" Barry put a hand on the wall in front of me. "Look at me, Belén."

"That's not my name," Datura turned to him, dead serious. It reminded Barry of Killer Frost who had also denied her true name. He supposed shedding their civilian name made the life seem less real.

"Yes, it was. It was a beautiful name too...did you get a nickname here too?" Barry hoped to casually talk with her just to see when-oh-when she had gotten to be like... _that_.

Datura tilted her head at him, possibly trying to see his game. She was loving his stupid reactions. It was exactly the torment she thought she could get if she revealed her true identity. Revenge was _so_ good. "My name is Datura. Like it or not, it is who I am. I'd appreciate if you used it. I mean, you don't hear me calling you by other names, right?"

Barry went grim. Even her sarcasm was malicious in all its intent. She loved creating problems and pain. It just didn't _fit_. "Belén, how could you...how could you do this? I saw your life before, you...you were married. You had a job, you had friends...a family. _Why_ would you do this?"

Datura took slow steps towards his cell, her face dead straight as she spoke. "I have to go hunt down your friends-" she tapped the wall of his cell then directed another finger at Jesse, "-and your father. Busy day and without Poison Ivy, I have to spread myself thin."

"Belén? Bel - come back!" Barry hit the wall but Datura kept walking and walking. "Bells!"

Jesse watched with some twisted confusion. "Is that her real name?" Barry sighed and nodded his head, still watching the direction Datura had gone. "How do you know her?"

Barry thought of many things before answering, but he ultimately came up with the simple truth. "Because she's the love of my life."

~0~

As soon as it was known that Harrison Wells and accompanying breachers were wanted, STAR Labs became the most dangerous site in the city. Harry and Cisco needed to make an escape while also figuring out a way to get Barry and Jesse back. With no alternatives, they had to let Earth 2 Barry in on the secret...after they had uncuffed him of course.

They may or may not have forgotten about him in the first place.

Now he and Iris were listening to the explanation Harry and Cisco were making, probably trying to evade anger from both dopplegangers since they were primarily affected by their visit to the new world.

"So the Barry from yesterday was not you?" Iris tried wrapping her head around the idea of multiple world travelling.

Barry shook his head fervently. "No. No, look, I... I know that this is hard to believe, but I mean, it is just like that sci-fi series, "Commander Carl, Space Marshal of the Galaxy' where Carl gets sucked into a black hole and ends up on another planet that he thinks is Earth, but really it's Earth... of another universe-" Iris gave him a look to quit talking so much. It was often his problem.

"Motor mouth," Cisco muttered under his breath, suddenly remembering their deceased Belén in this world. He wondered if the nickname even existed here.

"It's why you were acting even weirder than you usually would yesterday," Iris continued fitting in the puzzles. Harry went dead silent and gazed down.

Before they got even more sidetracked, Harry spoke in. "Barry tells us you've been tracking Zoom?"

Iris nodded her head but didn't look so confident in her work. "Yeah, I've been trying to. Why?"

"We need to find his lair," Cisco declared but soon received a look from Harry.

"Lair?"

"He's a bad guy; I'm calling it a lair."

Iris looked at both of them like they were crazy. "Zoom is looking for you. Why are you going after him?"

"Zoom has my daughter and our Barry, and we need to rescue them both."

"Look, I want to find Zoom just as much as anybody, but no one can track him. The only person who would know where he's hiding someone would be a meta that's worked with him."

"A meta like Killer Frost?" Cisco suddenly asked with an idea.

"Yeah, maybe. But Zoom kept her alive yesterday because she always obeys him. There is no way that she's gonna tell you where he is."

Cisco waved a finger. "I'm not so sure about that. If she loved Deathstorm as much as my Caitlin loved Ronnie, I think she'd be more than upset at Zoom for killing him."

"That's if Datura hasn't already siphoned her or killed her," Harry reminded them of the bigger danger that was still lurking the city. She was fueled with more anger at them for what happened with Poison Ivy.

Iris gave him the agreeing gesture. "You could be searching for bodies now. But I suppose if anyone can find Killer Frost, it would be Barry."

Barry nodded and got up from his stool. He walked over to the computer, noticing some of his things were misplaced on his desk. "Have you been in here?" he asked Iris who shook her head.

"No, why?"

"Computer is already on...that case was over there on that table-"

"Uh," Cisco cut in awkwardly, smiling matching too. "Yeah, that was probably our Barry's fault. He came in looking for files on Datura last night."

Earth 2 Barry was once again outraged. "He went through my things!?"

"I-it was for a good cause!" Cisco made a motion with his hands for Barry to remain calm.

"I hardly think going after that psycho siphoner qualifies as a 'good cause'," Barry mumbled and pulled up Killer Frost's profiles. "Sounds more like a waste of time."

Harry hid his face well behind and focused on the computer screen. "What's all that?"

"Oh, this is Killer Frost meta-data collected from numerous crime scenes... DNA trace movements, facial recognition, temperature fluctuations specific to her," Barry gestured as several cases of Killer Frost popped up. "My algorithm compiles all the data and gives us an approximate location. It works on most metas, except for Zoom, of course. He's too fast... never leaves a trace." And after a couple of minutes, the computer bleeped with an alarm. "Okay. Looks like the best bet's the woodlands."

"Best CSI in Central City," Iris clapped Barry on the shoulder.

"You know where that is, right?" Cisco asked Harry just as the two started going out.

"Yup, c'mon."

"Wait-" Iris stopped them midway, "I'm going with you guys. You're gonna need some help."

"Well if you're going then so am I," Barry stood up from his stool.

"N-no!" Harry was quick to wag his finger at the two.

Iris raised an eyebrow, clearly not intending on following that answer. "I think it's a pretty safe bet that since Killer Frost is in a weak moment, she might not be alone."

Harry immediately knew where she was going and had to shake his head fervently at her. "No, you can't come!"

"You don't tell me what I can and can't do," snapped Iris.

"Well forgive me if I doubt a cop can go up against an ice metahuman and a siphoner. It's best if you stay here, alright?"

"I don't know...Harry…" Cisco was beginning to doubt their numbers against skill. "Maybe getting some more numbers wouldn't be such a bad idea."

" _Ramon_ -" Harry threw the man a glare.

"Hey, unless you know of some nice metahumans that would like to help us against Killer Frost and Datura," Cisco sarcastically waved his hands at him.

"We can't," Harry insisted.

"Let us try and help you!" Iris exclaimed, frustrated.

Cisco pulled Harry to the side to get some sense knocked into the man. "Dude, we _need_ all the help we can get against these two metahumans. Need I remind you they have Barry and your daughter?"

"I know! I know!" Harry rubbed his face. "I know that, Ramon! But there's…"

"There's what?" Cisco raised an eyebrow, sensing there was something else being held back.

Harry's eyes flickered past him to Iris and Barry. "There's...something...I haven't...said…"

" _More_?" Cisco said with incredulity. "What more can you say!? You were working with Datura and Zoom, stealing Barry's speed, hoping to get to Belén. What more can you be hiding?"

"Datura's identity," Harry reminded him.

Cisco stiffened. He knew that Barry had gotten into an argument with Harry just before coming to Earth 2 because Harry had refused to reveal Datura's real identity. "What's that got to do with this now?"

"Everything," Harry grimly replied.

Cisco could tell this was something grave but he didn't understand why it suddenly mattered _now_. The loss of time was frustrating Harry. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to give a real explanation

"Harry?" Cisco expectantly waited for an explanation. "If this has to do with us, if it's getting in the way to Barry and Jesse, then you need to tell us right now."

Harry absolutely hated when Cisco was right. Time was ticking and every second counted if he wanted to save Jesse. "Fine," he raised his head. "But...it has to do with your wife," he set his eyes on Barry.

The weight of the atmosphere would soon shift.

~ 0 ~

Earth 1 Belén was attentively watching Iris point out the details of the newest article she had submitted for that week's paper. She had been allowed to go back to work on the condition that she and Iris stay together at all times. Belén suspected it was just a ploy to keep her away from any metahuman fighting until she was really ready to get back.

"Really good," Belén summarized her thoughts on the article in the shortest way possible. Her throat was still on minimal usage. Iris took it with a smile, proud of her efforts. "I...actually have an idea myself."

"A new article?" Iris beamed. It had been a long while since Belén came up with an article - up until now she'd done collaborations on the latest news in the city. "What is it?"

Just as Belén was about to open her mouth, a young, black man stopped by the desk. "Scott Evans, your new editor."

Iris quickly got out from her chair to greet their new boss. "Oh, Iris…"

"West, I know," Evans finished for her. "And you're the other one, Belén Palayta."

Belén quickly nodded her head and Iris jumped in to explain her condition before Belén decided to talk. "She's ill right now so her voice is kind of gone-" Evans seemed less than interested in it.

"It's fine. Anyways, I wanted to tell you-" he said to Iris, "-that the story you wrote about the recent Geomancer attack isn't being run."

Iris immediately frowned. "What? Why?"

"It's a fluff piece to try to make people feel good. What they need to know is the truth; The Flash might not always be there to save them."

Belén was scowling by now. "Not...only one…"

Evans spared her a glance. "If you're referencing the Azalea or even the other lesser known, the Tempest, you might as well save it because neither of them have showed up to do something. And your Black Orchid didn't even bother showing up either."

Belén opened her mouth to retort when Iris cut in. "Well, you never know what could be going on-"

"I need to run a real story," Evans bluntly said.

Iris was taken aback by the aggressiveness thrown their way. "Okay, uh... what if I could get you an exclusive with the meta-human that fought Geomancer? This... this other Flash."

"What, you friends with him too?"

"Just, um, give me a little time?"

"Fine, but if it's the same as the other crap that you wrote, I'm gonna run something about how The Flash may not be the hero we all dreamed he was," Evans warned them and walked off.

Belén intended on charging after him with a scrunched face and a balled fist but Iris grabbed onto her and pulled her back before anyone saw. It really sucked being unable to talk.

~0~

Barry knew trying to decipher what Zoom's third prisoner was trying to say was a dangerous idea, but he went ahead and did it anyways with the help of Jesse. Everything was going fine, even managing to get 'Jay Garrick' out from the helmeted prisoner. They were about to get more when Zoom showed up and threatened the third prisoner not to speak to Barry and Jesse again. And just to show his anger, and power, he through collective punches and kicks at Barry. The earth 1 metahuman was slammed against two of the four walls he was being kept within until Zoom sped out of the cell via vibration.

"Barry... Barry, are you okay?" Jesse tried peering through the open bars of her cell.

Barry leaned against a wall and nodded. "Yeah," he breathed hard and winced at the sharp pains he felt all over his body. "But Zoom just showed me how to get out of this thing."

There was a scream that belonged to none of the prisoners. Zoom had startled Datura by racing her back into the room. Her widened, disoriented face quickly scanned the area she was in.

"Time is up, siphon him," Zoom ordered, pointing a nasty, gloved finger at Barry.

Now Barry was a little confused to see the clear fear cross Datura's face.

"I-I...I said it would be better if Wells came in," she nervously responded.

Zoom grabbed her by the neck and pushed her towards Barry's cell. "Last time I heard Wells gave up the siphoning device. This should not matter." He once more crossed through Barry's cell and left Datura on her feet. "Siphon him now."

Barry met the woman's shaken face as he got up to his feet. This was the first time she looked decently scared.

"I can't! You know I can't!" Datura looked regretful of her words.

"DO IT!"

Datura pursed her lips together and walked to Barry, her gloved hand reaching for him. Barry inched back against the wall, eyes flickering from the hand to her face while she pulled one glove off. She seemed on the verge of collapsing into sobs. There was a strained vein across her forehead, one he only saw when Belén - _his_ Belén - was extremely mad.

Just a mere inch from his skin she stopped. "I can't!" she exclaimed. "It'll hurt me! That's why I told you to use Wells instead!"

Wrong words.

Zoom snatched her again and sped through the cell, throwing Datura down. She cried out when he raised her and slammed her against the third prisoner's glass.

Barry couldn't help himself. He was seeing Belén being _hurt_ and evil or not she was _Belén_. "STOP!" he shouted, pounding on the glass of his wall. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Zoom had dropped Datura on the ground but held her by the chin. "If you can't siphon his speed, then what is the _point_ of you?" his voice echoed in the room.

Now to this Datura could answer, and very well. "T-to keep the rest of _your_ metahumans with abilities dire to your speed in line. I may not be able to siphon as much as I please but they don't know that. Kill me right now and you lose one of your biggest holds over this city."

Zoom gripped her chin, making her gasp of the pain. "If Wells does not make it in, you will siphon his speed whether it kills you or not." He let her go abruptly and sped off, leaving her to lose her balance and fall.

Barry bent down to be on her eye level, even from a short distance. "Bells?" he tapped his wall. "Bells? Are you okay?"

Datura raised her head with disheveled hair. As soon as she did, Barry saw a trail of blood oozing from her nose. Her eyes widened in alarm as her fingers touched the liquid pooling over her lips.

"She does that a lot," Jesse said with cold eyes settled on the woman. Barry quickly glanced at her for an explanation. "Poison Ivy used to tell her not to exert herself. I heard it various times."

"Shut up!" Datura quickly snapped. She wiped the blood off her skin and got up to her feet.

"Your sick," Barry realized soon enough. His face softened as he gazed at her paler face. So many things began to click in his mind. "You had Wells make you a siphoning device for me because you were sick _sick_." Datura locked her lips, clearly not in the like of being outed. Barry planted his palms on the walls of his cell. "All this time...you've been sick and you haven't had anyone help you."

Datura charged up to his cell with newfound anger in her. "My help was locked away in your pipeline! Ivy was all I had and you and my stupid doppleganger took her away from me."

"No, no, she wasn't your friend…" Barry shook his head.

"Yea, she was," Datura assured him, relishing in correcting him. "She was the only person I truly had after I became this. And you-" she pointed at him, "-helped lock her away. If I die, let it be on your head."

"You're delirious," Jesse blurted, and immediately had Datura turning for her. Jesse backed up as Datura walked towards her cell.

Her eyes were flashing yellow as her hands crackled with golden electricity. "I assure you I am quite right in the mind," she spoke in overlapped voices.

Jesse whimpered, her hands digging into the wall behind her. Barry was appalled at the sight but more than that, he was stunned. Was this how sick Belén was? He assumed it had something to do with her powers, just like Jay...just like Earth 1's Rayan Palayta. "B-Belén! Belén stop!"

Her head whipped in his direction. "Something more to say?" she spoke still with that overlapped voice.

"Yes, and a lot! You're sick, and I guess now I know why you want your doppleganger…"

A pleased smile spread across Datura's face. The flash of yellow in her eyes faded away and the next time she spoke it was with her own voice. "Plant and plant bases and exact DNA. Good for you for figuring that out. Now when I kill her it won't be much of a surprise for you."

"You don't have to kill her to get her help," Barry promised her.

Datura walked back to his prison with a mock pout. "Yeah, cos I was going to ask for it."

"That's all you had to do! Belén would never let anyone die knowing she could help them. Let us help you-"

Datura suddenly laughed, well amused apparently. "That's adorable. You think I want _your_ help? Moreover, do you think I want to _ask_ for her help?" she wagged a finger at him, clicking her tongue. "N-n-n-n-no. What I want is for her to die. I want her powers and I want her dead. She owes me for hurting Ivy and locking her up. She's just lucky I can't kill you or you'd already be gone."

"How can you say that?" Barry genuinely asked. He searched and searched for some emotion besides hatred on Belén's face but couldn't find anything. "How could you...become this? I don't need to know your past to know you were a sweet, kind woman who apparently held a scientist's job?"

"You think I left because I wanted to?" snapped Datura. "You don't know anything."

There Barry had to disagree. "I know things! I know that despite everything you still care for the people you left behind."

"That's not true-"

"Yes it is! Back at Jitters when Killer Frost and Deathstorm were about to hurt Iris, you blocked the way-" Datura's face became stony hardat the reminder, "-and you _ordered_ them away. Once upon a time you and Iris West were good friends and that's still there. What's more, you still wear a mask when you're in the city. You-"

"Everyone does that," Datura gritted her teeth together, trying to remain strong and mighty in front of the audience, but she failed. Barry was finally seeing some twinkle in her dark eyes.

"No they don't. Killer Frost doesn't wear one. Deathstorm and Reverb didn't. Poison Ivy never did. Why? Because they didn't have anything to hide from. So what could you possibly be hiding from?" a smug face tool over Barry. "Better yet, _who_ could you be hiding from?"

Datura strained to keep herself composed. "Be quiet…" she warned.

"I think I know the answer - hell, I think even Jesse knows the answer," Barry motioned to the attentive girl. "What do you think, Jesse? From an unbiased party?"

Jesse blinked and glanced at Datura. "Um...well...she...she would have to...um...be hiding from someone she really-"

"Loves," they both said together.

"Who could that be, hm?" Barry waited for Datura to answer herself. "Your husband. The one who thinks your dead. You faked your death to get away from him but it didn't work-"

"You think I faked my death to get away from my Barry!?" Datura snapped, slamming a gloved hand on the wall. There was a new type of fury in her face that, honestly, would lead to murder if there wasn't a wall between them. "The way I got my powers was spontaneous and very soon became dangerous! I left because I didn't want to _hurt_ him! If I had left without dying he would've thought I abandoned him and he deserves _much_ better than that! This way he doesn't stay wondering why he wasn't good enough for me. He thinks I'm dead so he doesn't come looking for me. He doesn't get hurt. He lives happily and maybe even remarries someone without these powers."

Barry stared at her for the longest, seeing her pain, feeling it in his core. It was a moment where he didn't see Datura; he didn't see the hard, cold criminal. It was just the woman he had know for a long time now. "That's my Bells," he said quietly.

That infuriated Datura even more. She slammed a hand on the wall. "I AM NOT HER!" she screamed. "I am not your 'Bells'! I am not yours! GOT. IT? I only had one husband and that was _not_ **_you_**!"

"Well I'm sorry but your efforts to keep him safe are about to be futile. Because right now I'm willing to bet he, along with my friends, are searching for me."

"You're lying," Datura tapped the wall with a finger. "You're just desperate."

"Hell yeah I am! But we also know I'm telling the truth. Cos see now that I'm in here Wells has no reason to keep your identity a secret. And guess what's the first thing he'll do?"

Panic struck the woman. Her hands flung to her hair, barely able to go through it because of her curls. "I'll kill him first," she decided. "I'll definitely kill him first."

"N-n-n-no!" Jesse began to panic as well when she heard the new devised plan. "You can't kill my Dad! Y-you need him! Remember that?"

"Then I'll bring him here and let Zoom have him," Datura snapped her fingers. "Yes, exactly."

Barry was already dejected to see her so easily accept murder, but when he saw a glow of green in her eyes he became even more worried. Was that part of her illness? He didn't even register her leaving until Jesse called to him loudly.

"Good going, now she'll kill my Dad and who's going to rescue us?" the girl was scowling at him, accusatory.

Barry shook his head and tried to focus on the wall in front of him. "Nah, your father has been dealing with her for some time. He's resilient and he's not alone. He'll make it."

"You know, just because she's the doppelganger of your girlfriend or whatever doesn't mean they're the same person," Jesse said as a point for her. "This woman is evil, okay? Forget the face because on the inside she's a murderer. I've seen the cases. I've seen her now. There is nothing good inside of her."

Jesse didn't know if Barry shaking his head was because he disagreed or if it meant he wanted her to stop talking. Maybe it was both. Barry just didn't want to listen to that and think it was true...despite him knowing it probably was. It didn't fit. It couldn't. He knew that even if they presented all the information, the cases, the _corpses,_ a confession from Datura herself about all the crimes she'd committed he would not be able to accept it.

It was beyond him.

~0~

Caitlin worked hard at the main desk in the cortex, switching tabs of Jay's biology. She felt like she was so close to getting to the cure for Jay's illness that wouldn't even require siphoning the powers back from Datura in the first place.

From across the room sat Iris and Belén, the latter helping the former with the new article on Jay meant to be turned in the next day to Evans.

"Mhm," Belén pointed at the screen, specifically a paragraph Iris had just finished revising.

"I'm taking that as an 'excellent job, Iris! You've done fantastic!'" Iris exclaimed, bobbing her head and laughing till she saw Belén shooting her a sarcastic glare. "Sorry, it's just not often you can't talk."

Belén rolled her eyes and uttered an 'Payback soon' as best she could. Caitlin looked up from her computer to scold her for that one.

"Belén, I've told you for the last time you can't make a quick recovery if you keep forcing yourself to talk!"

Belén released a big breath and got up from her chair, mimicking the words. She laughed until she turned around and saw none other than Geomancer appearing at the threshold. "NO!"

Caitlin, not knowing who was behind her, sighed deeply and went to scold again. "Bells! What did I just say-" but Iris had glanced back thanks to Belén forcing her to turn in her chair.

"Oh my God!" the woman jumped from her chair. "Caitlin!"

The brunette finally saw the intruder and quickly got away from the desk. "What do you want?"

"I like to watch heroes fall and never get back up," Geomancer came towards them.

Caitlin's jaw tightened with indignance. "He always gets back up!"

"Hard to do that when the Earth swallows you whole!" Geomancer then crushed his hands against the floor, making the entire room rumble. The three women hurried out of the room, hoping to find something to defend themselves against.

Midway down the corridor, Belén stopped and turned back with the intention to fight. Caitilin skidded to a stop and went back for her. "You can't!" she yelled and pulled Belén.

They ran into Cisco's working room with Iris. Caitlin let go of Belén and went in search of something on a metal shelf.

"Where is it?"

"What - what are you searching for?" Iris went over to help her despite not knowing what Caitlin wanted.

Another ripple shook the new room and caused the shelf to topple over Caitlin and Iris. Belén would've screamed but her throat was still hurting. She strung her vines forwards and started throwing things out of the way to get to her friends. She rushed forwards, or at least tried to, when Geomancer appeared and yanked her back by the collar. She was thrown to the ground, her head knocking into the leg of another table.

"Looks like this new Flash isn't much of a hero after all," Geomancer stepped towards her.

Belén scowled, not at all afraid of the man. She pressed her fingertips to the floor and started releasing vines towards him.

"Let's see what a seven will do to S.T.A.R. Labs…" Geomancer raised his fists to crush on the floor when he was attacked by an electrical beam binding him together.

Caitlin had found what she was looking for: a great big gun that probably belonged to Harrison Wells.

"Nice shot," Iris remarked as she went to go help Belén up.

"I was aiming for his leg," Caitlin admitted and lowered the gun, sparing a glance at the groaning Geomancer on the floor.

~ 0 ~

Harry led the group through the woods for Killer Frost. It was a long walk but no one complained. They were just glad that so far Zoom hadn't found them yet.

"Okay, so let's review our plan A," Cisco blew some air and honestly hoped for the best.

"What plan?" Iris frowned behind him. "The one where you're asking Barry to risk his life?"

"No one forced you to come," Harry reminded. "Soon as you came you wrote yourself up for risk and resilience."

"I still think the plan is crazy," Iris flatly said back. "It's not going to work-"

"It _will_!" Cisco stopped and turned to the woman, letting Harry continue ahead. His eyes flickered past her to Barry who had yet to say a word since they devised the plan. Cisco licked his lips, anxious himself on the results of this plan. "Look, man, the Belén in my world is also a metahuman-" Barry's face paled at the new revelation, and before he could panic Cisco added, "-but despite going through a hell of a lot of darkness she came back. She came back because of her family, her friends, our Barry, and most of all...because of _her_. Because deep down, in her core, she can't be... _evil_."

Barry looked down for a moment, thinking about that other Belén from another world. He would like to meet her just to...be able to fully prove that there would be more versions of his wife that lived happily. "Well...in theory...just because dopplegangers look the same doesn't mean they're the same."

"Okay, you got me there," Cisco acknowledged. "My doppleganger, Caitlin's doppleganger and Ronnie's doppleganger are all evil...but you know why we're going to Caitlin - er, Killer Frost - and your Belén? Because when they love someone, those people mean the _world_ to them. They would do anything for them. Is that your Belén?"

Barry raised his head, meeting Cisco with a strong face. "I want to believe she still is," he said and walked past him and Iris. He needed to believe his wife was still good somewhere in that siphoning heart of hers.

Up ahead Harry was trudging along a pathway that was seemingly leading down to a lower pathway. He started to hear crackles of branches, leaves swishing...and the temperature suddenly became a rash cold. Harry paused, eyes keenly alive and flickering.

"Peek-a-boo," Datura's voice startled from behind. He whirled around, ready to take aim with his gun, only to find the woman's face inches from him...and upside down. She was hanging from a tree, secured by a trusty vine. She really shared that trait with her Earth 1 doppelganger. "Dr. Wells I need you stat."

Before Harry could do or move, she struck him with a vine, pushing him across till he landed against a tree. She extended a balled fist towards him, letting red flames dance around her hands. She shot towards him but he rolled to the side and dodged it. Before anything else, he took ahold of his gun and shot at her. Her hands raised and vines sprung to two trees to pull her up.

"FROST!"

Harry tilted his head back and saw the blips of white hair moving behind the trees. Icy smoke went straight for him but he scrambled up to his feet and rushed out of the way. Just as he was about to pass through, Datura jumped from above and whacked him with a vine.

"Gotcha," her eyes flashed red and her voice overlapped with another woman's. Red energy beams danced around her gloved hands. Her arms pushed forwards and released the beams.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Cisco came running towards them, shooting but aiming to miss. "No! You don't do that, Bells!"

"Who's Bells?" Killer Frost's appearance made him yelp and stumble back.

"Yikes!"

Harry took the moment to get up and take perfect aim at Datura. The woman merely smirked and begged him to continue.

"Either way you're coming with me," she warned yet promised at the same time. "You don't need to be able to walk to finish the speed device." The blazing red beams grew around her hands.

"Belén don't you dare," Barry's voice made her stiffen for a moment. He and Iris had finally caught up but neither dared to move closer.

"Come back for more?" Killer Frost's voice drawled on.

"We came to talk," Cisco said but the step he took was immediately retracted when she raised her billowing, icy hands. "I will talk from here," he pointed at his spot.

"Belén…I know it's you," Barry continued with the metahuman who still had her back to him. "Dr. Wells told us everything."

The red glow faded from her eyes as they settled on Harry. Her anger faded to be replaced by frustration. "You just wouldn't hold your tongue, huh, old man?"

"He had a right to know his wife became a murderous psychopath," Harry refused to take down his aiming gun. At least this way, she would be easier to take down.

Fury easily found her again. "I AM NOT!" she thrust forwards of energy beams again. Harry whirled to the side but, on Barry's pleading note, he did not shoot back. This however, did not stop Datura from continuing her attacks. She sucked in a big breath and blew red poison his way.

"Hey, my Bells does that too!" Cisco exclaimed but quickly remembered that unlike his Bells, this Belén aimed to _kill_. "You can't do that!"

"Belén stop, _please_!" Barry started walking towards her, making Iris attempt to stop him. He wasn't seeing the clear danger and she wasn't going to let him die on a stupid mistake.

"You can't!"

Barry shook Iris' hand from his arm. He was focused on his wife who was currently trying to poison a man. "Belén…"

Datura stopped with her poison but green vines were springing and swaying around her hands. "Get out of the city, Barry. Just go or you're going to get hurt."

"I don't think anything can hurt more than finding out your wife faked her death to turn into Zoom's servant." Barry stopped just a couple inches from her. He could begin to sniff her scent he'd missed so much in the year after her 'death'.

"I didn't want to hurt you but it was the only way. Now go. You and Iris...you can get out now. Dr. Wells needs to come with me."

"Uh...and...me?" Cisco dreaded to know what his fate would be.

"We don't need spares."

"Ah." Yes, he completely regretted asking.

"Belén...please…?" the moment Barry touched her arm she winced and stepped forwards to get away from him.

"You don't want to do that," she warned. "Anyone who touches me runs the risk of dying."

"I don't care! You owe me so much now TURN AROUND!" Barry unexpectedly found his courage to order something. Even Iris was surprised by it.

Datura bit her lip and slowly turned around. Barry stumbled back a couple steps. Without the mask she was the same Belén he had known for so many years and yet, at the same time, she wasn't. She was filled with pain and so much _anger_.

"My God…" Iris whispered. "It is you…"

"Yowzah…" Cisco breathed in. "Bells?"

Datura's dark eyes flickered his way. "If I have to hear that name one more time I'm going to make sure the squirrels eats your corpse."

"Hey," Barry snapped his fingers at her, gaining her attention. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You have me mourning you, missing you, loving you...and you're out here committing atrocious crimes with Poison Ivy and Zoom?"

"Uh, yeah, you don't have to worry about Poison Ivy anymore," Cisco waved a hand. Iris sent him a confusing glance. "The Belén of our world captured her and locked her way."

"Hm," Iris nodded, mildly impressed. "She a cop?"

"No, journalist...with aerial dancing on the side."

"I can't believe she kept that. Truly the runt of my doppelgangers."

"Enough talking," Killer Frost broke through. "What are we doing?" she asked Datura, confused. "I thought you said to bring that one-" she nodded to Harry, "-to Zoom and kill the rest."

"You can take care of that one," Datura pointed at Cisco who frowned, utterly offended at her dismissal. "Barry and Iris are leaving," she settled her dark eyes on her husband.

"No we're not," Barry stood his ground. "You're coming back-"

"I'm not," she shook her head. "I can't! I don't belong there anymore. I don't want to."

"You can't forget us, Belén…"

"I never said anything about forgetting," she said despondently. Her hand raised to the purple datura sitting on the side of her head, the one she always woer no matter what.

Barry followed the gesture and immediately recognized the flower. "You kept it."

"Of course I kept it...it's a part of me. It's what made... _me_ ," Datura gestured to herself. "The flowers you gave me mixed in with what I was working on...and because of Wells' Particle Accelerator...I became a siphoner…"

"An unstable one," Harry spat.

"An who's fault was that!?" she snapped, turning on him. "I was a scientist, just working when _you_ turned that thing on and ruined my life! I didn't ask to change. _You_ made that happen. You created me, you created her-" she gestured to Killer Frost, "-and then you treated us like criminals when the only criminal was _you_."

"No one told you to use your powers for evil," Iris narrowed her eyes on her. "We could have helped you."

"No metahuman powers, no opinion," she snapped. "Nobody ever thought of helping people like me-" she frantically gestured at herself, "-when we were scared of our powers. All anyone knew was that there were metas with strange powers who needed to be locked away. I did what I had to."

"Look, that's all bad and stuff, but you still made wrong choices," Cisco said. "How about you do something good for once and tell us where Zoom keeps his prisoners?"

Both Datura and Killer Frost laughed. "Why would we do that?" the latter them asked when she was sober enough.

"Because it would be a real good testament that you're not as cold hearted as you seem."

Killer Frost was studying him with some degree of fascination. "You really don't know how to use your abilities, do you, breacher?"

"It's a work in progress, Elsa," Cisco rolled his eyes. "Zoom killed the love of your life. This hurts, even for somebody with a heart as cold as yours."

"And you think that would make me turn on Zoom?"

"It better not," Datura warned. "You know I've been dying to get your powers. One wrong move and I get them."

Killer Frost stiffened in her spot but kept her mouth closed.

"Hey…" Barry made the mistake of grabbing Datura's arm.

She quickly yanked it away from him and glowered. "Don't touch me!"

"Sorry! I just want you to listen," Barry could sense a different sort of panic in her face, one that seemed enough to be abnormal.

"You need to leave," she pointed. "You and Iris need to go. Wells and the breacher are already dead. There's no need for you two to go down with them."

"We're not leaving," Barry frowned. "We're going whether you want us or not. But here's the thing…" he stepped closer to her but she backtracked the same step, "...if you're so worried over us, then come with us."

"What? Absolutely not!"

"I am going to help these people and maybe you being on our side would make the difference between our lives or our deaths."

"I could care less whether they live or die," she replied bluntly.

"But me? Iris?"

"You protected me," Iris spoke up and walked up beside Barry. "You could have let them kill me like they killed my dad, but you didn't. Are you really going to let us walk straight into Zoom's lair on our own?"

Killer Frost lowered her icy hands and released an annoyed breath. "Oh just let them go. They'll be saving us the trouble of fighting. If they walk in and Zoom will find them anyways. We'll just get the credit."

"Belén, please…" Barry whispered to his wife, reaching to touch her face.

She stepped backwards again. "Don't touch me," she warned again. "I'll lead you there-" she glanced at Harry, "-but the moment Zoom comes in I get Barry and Iris out of there. You two-" she pointed now at Cisco too, "-become new prisoners."

"We'll see about that evil Belén," Cisco mocked her tone before making a face. "Nope. See? Even the words put together don't fit."

Datura rolled her eyes, simply beyond done, and started walking off.

"Uh, where are we going?" Iris looked to Killer Frost for the answer since Barry (in her mind stupidly) gone after Datura.

"Ascension Cliffs," Killer Frost responded in an eerie tone.

The road through the woods was a difficult one considering its group consisted of problematic sides. It became even more difficult when the doors of the past were being forced open no matter how much one tried to keep it locked.

From her end, Datura could begin to see glimpses of the cliffs where Zoom's lair was. She was already making up plans - sorting through the best ones - on how she would get both Barry and Iris safely out of there once Zoom arrived...because he _would_ arrive. That was the plan after all.

"You're going to have to talk to me at some point," Barry's voice cut her off in the middle of a decent plan. He was following closely behind, not letting her out of his sight.

"Sorry but you'll have to keep dreaming on that one," Datura said as emotionless as possible. "You opted to come - stupidly - so this is your punishment."

"Well if that means you're taking me into consideration then I'll gladly take it. Probably the first time in a long time, huh?" his accusatory voice made her stop.

"Don't do that," she said quietly.

"Do what?"

Datura turned around, eyes briefly flickering past him to see where the others were coming from. She'd purposely walked on a little ahead intending on getting away from Barry but she'd forgotten how determined he was. "Turn this into something...domestic...a-and...about _us_ ," her gloved fingers pointed between them. "Because there is nothing anymore. You're a civilian. I'm the city's best meta - next to Zoom of course."

Barry was quick to disagree. "No! You know what you are. You're my wife-"

"I'm not. I'm dead."

"Yeah, because you faked it to get away and start all this…" Barry shook his head. "Did you even think what you put me through? What you put your family through? We _lost_ you. We didn't even have a proper corpse to mourn because you made it so damn good enough to leave nothing behind except for one of the Daturas I gave you."

"I had to separate from you," Datura whispered, new tears coming to fill her eyes.

"I raged like I never did before because I thought you'd been murdered by the person you are today! Honestly what the hell were you thinking!?"

"I was trying to keep you safe…"

Barry scoffed. "Safe? Really?"

"Yes, I was-"

"So that's why you terrorize the city along with the rest of Zoom's metahumans? That is supposed to 'keep me safe'?"

"That came after!" she snapped. For once, there was a raw emotion settling on her face. "Zoom came after! Poison Ivy came after! _You_ -" she pointed, "-came first. You _always_ came first, Barry. That's why when I became this...I knew I had to get away from you before…"

"Before what?" Barry waited for a good answer that would justify everything she did.

Datura looked at her gloved hands. "Do you know why I wear these gloves all the time?" she raised them up. "When I got my powers it was an accident, and I tried - I _tried_ my _best_ -" she said with fierce regret, "-to hide them. I did anything I could to keep them away but every day it got worse. It came to the point where I got scared that I would end up hurting you…" she trailed off once she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She released a breath and started pulling her gloves off. "I'm a Siphoner, probably the best one you'll find…because anything I touch...I feed off on…" she revealed pale hands underneath.

Even from a distance Barry could see patches of red over them. They didn't look so good. "What are you...what are you saying?"

"I can't touch anything without siphoning whatever energy they have. I discovered that when I made the mistake of grabbing Mrs. Andrews."

"Wait, what? _You_ killed our neighbor!?"

Even then Barry could swear he was seeing _remorse_ in her face. It gave him a little hope that she wasn't all the way gone. "I-I hadn't meant to!" her hand frantically searched for the Datura on her head. "I just wanted to ask her when she could come by and it happened! I just...I sucked up her energy...and I...I was so scared…" a distant look began to take over her features, "...I remember that pit in my stomach...when I saw her literally...shrivel...right in front of my eyes. She was weak. And I had a power of God but I couldn't control it so I just...I had to watch her die. My first kill." She swallowed hard and came back to reality. "I knew then that I couldn't stay with you anymore. So I made a plan that same day...and I faked my death in my own job. No one would go against a tragic experiment gone wrong."

"You ran away because you were _scared_?"

"Well, how would you react if you suddenly had the power that would kill anyone who touched your hands?" Datura snapped, offensive. "Death literally dances on my fingertips and I couldn't let you…" she trailed off, meeting her husband's soft gaze, "...I loved you...so I had to go before you ended up shriveled and dead. You can hate me for that but I don't care."

"If you think I could _ever_ hate you then maybe you did forget me…" Barry walked up to her and so she quickly put her hands behind her, balled up and firmly pressed onto her back. "I can't...and I really don't want to," Barry's hand tentatively hovered over her cheek. There was a fear in her eyes and just like always, he wanted to make it go away. He gently stroked her skin and while she flinched for the first second she gradually fell under it. She _missed_ it.

 _He's going to die_. The voice inside her head reminded her of reality. She sucked in a gasp and her eyes flashed white. She stepped back from Barry and put on her gloves. "Get away from me," her voice overlapped with someone else's. "I've yet to take you and the rest of Zoom. He hates waiting."

Barry was speechless but overtly confused. What the hell was happening? She was just fine a minute ago and now she was threatening his life and walking away. He panicked.

"Barry?" Iris saw Datura leaving and Barry frozen to his spot. It was pretty easy to assume. "Barry!? What did she do!?" she ran towards him. The others sped walked after her.

"I-I-I don't….I don't know," Barry ran a hand through his hair, the other pointing after Datura. "We were just...we were talking - like actually talking - and then she just...she started talking like...like there was someone else talking at the same time…"

"She does that," Killer Frost clearly took pleasure in his fear. It was always hilarious seeing civilians react to Datura's condition.

"You know what it means?" Harry asked.

Killer Frost smirked. "Consider it the echoes of those she has siphoned. My personal favorite is Scarlett Queen. God I hated that bitch."

"Do you mean to tell me that every time she siphons someone she takes not only their powers but also a bit of _them_?" Cisco gawked. "Man she's making it hard to root for her recovery."

"There is no recovery, Ramon," Harry warned and started walking ahead. "She's sick. And the only way she could get a cure is-"

"Yeah, yeah, go to our world and get our Belén. I've heard the story," Cisco rolled his eyes. "But honestly, she could have just asked. It's not like Bells would've said no."

"Bells? That's what you call her?" Barry snapped out from his moment.

"Yeah. I nicknamed her," Cisco said proudly, "I do that with everyone. What do you call her here?" he winced as soon as the words left his mouth. "What did you used to call her...I-I meant…"

"Elle," Barry replied blankly before starting to walk again. Iris threw Cisco a cold glance, probably scolding him for his imprudent question.

"Sorry," the man mumbled and quickly walked too.

~ 0 ~

Earth 1's STAR Labs was going under major struggles as the portal room underwent chaos from Geomancer's visit. Despite the sparks, Belén used a fire extinguisher to get them all out before it turned into an actual fire.

"So that was the sound that we heard," Iris said just as she and her father walked into the room.

Joe saw the portal rings making buzzes and winced. "Please tell me it's not as bad as it looks."

Belén turned around and lowered the fire extinguisher. "Bad," she croaked.

Caitlin stopped working for a second just to warningly point at her to keep quiet. Iris quickly took out her cellphone to check the time.

"They still have an hour left. What if they're trying to get through the breach right now and they can't?"

Belén honestly tried not to think about that.

"Okay, the jolt disrupted the quark matter. The electromagnetic insulators are failing," Jay read off the controls next to Caitlin.

"So how do we fix this in time?" asked Joe.

"I don't know if we can…"

~ 0 ~

Barry tried, and tried, and tried, to phase through the walls of his prison. Zoom had done it with no problem and yet hr he was crashing every two seconds. Jesse winced with each attempt but no matter how many times she told him to stop Barry wouldn't listen.

"Barry?" he started to hear Cisco's voice calling out. At first he thought it was probably a hallucination from the many blows his head took. "Barry?" Cisco came into view.

"Cisco!?" Barry quickly went up the prison wall.

Cisco chuckled, feeling mighty relieved to see Barry was well. "Dude, we made it."

"How did you find this place?"

"Had some help…" Cisco languidly gestured back to the incoming Killer Frost and Datura. Barry straightened , eyes settling on the familiar faces of Belén and Caitlin. "Dude, seriously, how could you keep that from me?" Cisco's finger moved to Datura.

Datura glowered and sucked in a breath to release, what everyone presumed, would be poison.

"Hey! No!" Earth-2 Barry clapped a hand over her mouth, startling her for a second. "You don't poison people!"

Harry ran just past them towards Jesse's cell. "Stand back!" he raised the bars of her cell and hurried to hug her. "I'm here. I'm here. Come on, let's get you out of here." He pulled on the chain around Jesse's wrist, which was anchored to a stone pillar, to no avail. "Frost? A little help?"

The metahuman in question raised her eyebrows, wearing a face that said they had to be kidding her. "You have about 5 minutes until Zoom decides to show up-"

"Approximately 2," Datura corrected.

Killer Frost thanked her with a nod. "And then you're all dead."

Cisco cleared his throat, sending Datura a questionable face. The woman smirked. "You did my work for me. I didn't have to lift a finger to get you three here. But now it's time for you and you-" she pointed at her Barry and Iris, "-to leave."

"We're not going anywhere," Iris warned and moved closer to Cisco and Harry. "They have to leave with us."

Datura rolled her eyes. "They're not. Zoom will come and he'll have Wells siphon Barry for the speed. Then when he's happy I get to go back for Ivy and my doppleganger. I can't have you ruining my plans, Iris."

"Get them out!" earth 2 Barry suddenly ordered. "You're not doing this, Belén! I don't care what you think your plans are but I _know_ you would not let a girl die."

"It's been a year, how would you know?" she eyed him. "You've seen how many bodies I've left in the city? All the botany metahumans I've targeted? _I_ killed them, Barry, because I needed something from them."

"So you've done enough, don't you think?" this time Barry snapped with full intention. "Go set her free," he pointed at Jesse.

Killer Frost laughed shortly, thinking it all ridiculous. As if Datura would ever take orders from anyone but Zoom.

"If I free her...will you go?" Datura asked cautiously. "No questions asked. You and Iris leave."

"Yeah. But he has to go too," Barry then pointed at his earth 1 counterpart.

Datura laughed then. "Now I've heard it all."

"I wasn't playing!"

"Neither was I!"

"Belén enough is enough," Barry seized her gloved hand.

The moment he touched her hand was the moment she lost her cold boldness. Her eyes widened and she struggled to get out of his grip. "D-d-d-don't!" she cried frantically as Barry began to pull the glove off her hand.

The others watched, baffled, by the sight. Iris had never seen Barry act so...brash, but then she remembered this was how he and Belén were back in the day before any metahumans. They were opposites, and when they had their moments, they pushed each other to new things. They were like a push and pull kind of relationship, and it _worked_. Phenomenally.

Behind her were the confused earth 1 Cisco and Barry. Unlike Iris, the two were trying to figure out what was triggering Datura's vulnerability besides her husband's presence. There was something earth 2 Barry knew that was mighty important to have Datura in such a state. Perhaps it was their winning ticket.

"No! No! Barry, stop!" Datura pleaded. On a whim, she saw Killer Frost raising her icing hands, intending on getting Barry no doubt. "No!" Datura forgot about the fight and whirled around, covering Barry. "Don't you dare!"

Barry latched onto her wrist from behind. "Belén, do the right thing. I'm not joking anymore. If you have any feelings left whatsoever for us...you'll do this."

Datura swallowed hard. "You'd bargain your life for those 3 breachers?"

"Absolutely," Barry faced the three out-of-world travelers with a big smile.

There was a terrible defeat in Datura's face. After a moment, she requested one more time, faintly, "Don't touch me... _please_."

Barry released her wrist, careful not to touch her hand and stepped back. Killer Frost watched in amazement as Datura walked over to Jesse's cell and used her red energy beams to break the chain off.

"Well this is a surprise," Killer Frost smirked. "Wait until Zoom finds out."

Datura directed a fist with red energy swimming around it. With eyes flashing red, she commanded with an overlapping voice, "Release the Flash or I'll siphon you without a second thought."

"You'll die," Killer Frost triumphantly reminded.

"Not before you do," Datura raised her other fist. " _Go."_

Killer Frost glowered but did as told. She walked over to Barry's cell and tried icing it to bits. After the fourth attempt, she stepped back with pursed lips.

"What's going on? Why... why isn't it working?" asked Cisco.

"I don't know. I've never had this problem before."

Harry went to check the quality of the wall, half presuming Killer Frost was just playing dumb. "Carbyne. It's some form of carbyne. This cell's made out of some form of carbyne. You'll never be able to freeze him out of there."

"Ivy made it," Datura relished in the bit of revenge she was getting.

Cisco pointed at her to stay quiet and turned to Barry. "You can't phase out of there?"

Barry thought about it for a second, knowing that his attempts before were futile. Zoom was coming, that much he knew for a fact, and everyone there was running a risk for him. "Just go, all right? Before Zoom comes back."

Cisco stared like he'd lost it. "We're not leaving you here."

"I can't get out of this cell. I've tried a lot. I'm not fast enough to phase through this. You got... just leave, all right? Just leave."

"You heard the man," Datura made a shooing motion. "Get out. Wells you can stay you too."

Her Barry shook his head, wearily sending her a glance. "Frost?" The white-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "Knock her down."

"What!?" Datura barely had time to react when Killer Frost sent a harsh show of blue cold beams her way. She hit the wall of the third prisoner and rolled to the ground, unconscious.

"Don't know why you asked but thanks. I've been dying to do that for the longest," Killer Frost beamed with malicious pride. Everyone else waited for an explanation.

Barry made sure Datura was completely knocked out first before he facing his doppelganger. "She's sick - and I don't mean mentally but physically - she is _sick_. Anything she touched she siphons, and she intakes part of the victim's actual soul. Now I don't know how things work on your Earth but here, death makes people do crazy things. If you don't get out of that prison, she is going to go to your world, find her doppelganger and probably kill her. Maybe you don't want to get out of there, maybe deep down you think that you'll be saving everyone if you stay here and give Zoom what he wants. But just think about this: you being here means that in your world, your Belén won't know what's coming for her. She'll be caught off guard and a split second of disorientation is all my Belén needs to capture her. Get out, Barry. _Now_."

Earth 1 Barry glanced at Cisco, and even Harry for that matter. Sure, they could tell Belén what happened, and maybe with the breaches closed she would be safe...until Datura found a meta with breech powers to siphon. That was thing, wasn't it? A siphoner could go around any plan so long as she had her powers. He couldn't leave his Bells alone. Yes, she probably wouldn't hesitate to fight, and she could handle herself, but he _needed_ to help her. He needed to be there. Like he promised.

"Dude, if we come back without you she could go a-wall on our asses," Cisco said after a couple seconds of silence. "Could give this doppleganger a run for her money in the scary department."

Earth 1 Barry gave a small chuckle. Belén's face of doom was not one to mess with. "Okay," he motioned them all to step aside. Even Killer Frost moved a bit. He prepared himself to 'run', taking breaths like he'd done before but this time with a focus not on himself. His doppelganger may have been right in some things…

With energy pumping through his body, he ran straight first into the wall...and vibrated through it.

"Okay, let's go!" Cisco motioned and started to run first. "Go, come on!" And just as he passed earth 2's Barry and Iris, he added, "Psycho-Belén stays here!"

Earth 1 Barry stopped in front of the masked prisoner still behind his wall. "Wait, wait! Hey! We're not leaving him!"

"Barry, there's no time!" Harry snapped, motioning to still Killer Frost and the unconscious Datura.

Almost a second later, Zoom sped in, forcing everyone to stop in their tracks. "He's not going anywhere, and neither are any of you. Thank you for bringing them to me. I would have expected better from my siphoner." Killer Frost cracked a smirk.

"Zoom. Let them go. All you need is me and Barry," Harry spoke up.

Zoom took his words quite literally. "You're right. I may not be able to kill you yet, but I can kill them." In less than a second he had snatched Jesse from her spot. "I told you I'd kill you in front of your father."

"No! No!" Harry didn't know what to do nor how to move. He wasn't fast enough. Neither was Barry. Jesse sobbed as Zoom held her like any other rag doll.

Killer Frost blinked rapidly, something about the scene making her feel...odd? The girl looked young, far younger than everyone in the room. Why did she have to die? _Same reason as Deathstorm._ To prove a point? What a ridiculous, _unfair_ point. Why should the girl and Deathstorm be killed to prove a point to _breachers_? Her heart leaped a jolt with pure fury. Her hands reacted faster than she could think. Zoom was thrown into Jesse's cell with a non-stop blast of cold rage.

"Get out of here!" she told the rest.

"Caitlin…" Cisco breathed in, completely stunned.

"You were right. He killed Ronnie. For a stupid _point_."

As everyone started to leave, Datura began to stir from her brief slumber. Disoriented, she could only make out sounds of people shouting.

"Belén? Elle!" It was Earth 2 Barry trying to wake her. He had both Iris and Harry shouting for him and his doppleganger to get the hell out already. Neither listened.

Earth 1 Barry was still trying to figure a way to get the last prisoner out.

It took very little for Datura to catch up. She groaned and sat up, rubbing the side of her head. "Get out of here, Barry. I'm gonna have to go after the breechers...and probably stop Killer Frost now. Thanks a lot."

Still, her Barry helped her stand. "You have to get help, okay? We need to find a cure and-"

"I already found a cure," she snapped. "And I'm gonna get it no matter whose lives I have trample over." Barry shook his head, refusing to believe such a thing actually came out of her mouth. She knew what he was thinking: was she really his wife? And it _hurt_. It was exactly why she had faked her death. With her being dead, she could be the worst of herself and not have to face him. But now that was ruined. He knew who she was and everything she did from now on, he would know was _her_. She grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her. "Barry, listen to me, just listen, I'm gone. I'm not coming back. You have a right to move on and live your life. I'm sorry. Belén is gone."

She leaned forwards and gave him a last kiss, a proper one meant to say goodbye. Barry knew exactly what kind of kiss that was and kissed her as hard as he could, hoping that it would never end.

But, just like that, she pushed her Barry away. "10 seconds-" she warned, "-before I go full on siphoner."

"Belén-"

She forced herself to turn away from him. "10...9...8...7…" she threatened the Earth 1 Barry with glowing white hands.

"I'm not…" he was much more frustrated than his counterpart.

"...6...5…"

"I can't hold him forever!" Killer Frost called over her ongoing battle with Zoom. The ice around him was beginning to crack.

"I'm going to cure you," earth 1 Barry promised to Datura, who merely smirked. "And I'm coming back for you when this is over, all right?" he said to the last prisoner.

"...1!" and so Datura shot her stolen beams at the speedster. He easily dodged them and snatched his doppelganger from the site.

Datura stood there for a moment, welling in her loss (again). After another additional 20 seconds, she took in a deep breath and pulled off her gloves. "I always did want your powers…" she set eyes on Killer Frost and calmly walked up behind the white-haired woman.

She grabbed her by the neck…

Killer Frost gasped from the strain she was now carrying. Her eyes bulged, and little by little the pale skin grayed.

Datura convulsed behind her but forced herself to keep a steady grip on her victim until the job was done.

~0~

The team on Earth 1 were still going crazy figuring out how to solve their situation with the portals. The breech was coming in and out of existence, allowing no one to cross.

"Our only chance is to reboot the electromagnetic insulators and hope the quark matter redistributes equally," Jay said after a long thought with the computer in front of him.

"Hope?" Belén managed to say and this time ignored Caitlin's scolding looks.

"But we'd have to do it manually," Jay regretted to add, as it made him sound even less reliable.

"You can't be near the stabilizer rings when they power on, or you'll get sucked into the breach!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Not if I create a vortex to counteract the pull."

"But you can't do both at the same time!"

Belén cleared her throat, ignored the pain she felt because of it, and raised her palms. Several tendrils of vines raised from her skin, reminding them all that she could - effectively - do various things at the same time.

"Yes!" Jay pointed at her without a second thought. He hurriedly brought her to the portals to explain what she needed to do. "There's an override switch on every stabilizer ring-" he motioned to the rectangular switches she would not to flip for each portal ring, "-I'll create the vortex and all you have to do is flip all of them. They should all reboot." Belén nodded and stepped back to get a full view on all of the portals. "Caitlin, once that's done, you power up the cannon. The breach should stabilize."

"And what if it doesn't?" Caitlin asked, her face expressing grave concern.

"We're all out of luck," Jay bluntly responded. He glanced at Belén one more time to know if she was ready or not.

When she gave a nod, he sped off for the dais. As he circled the breech, keeping it stable, Belén fought against the wind and shot vines towards the first two portal rings. Her feet slipped back a little but she regained her control and with more force switched the two flips back into place. Then she rushed for the other two portal rings.

"The Velocity-9 is running out!" Caitlin said after monitoring Jay's vitals. Indeed they noticed Jay beginning to go a little bit slower.

Belén did her best and once more shot tendrils of vines. They wrapped around the side of the rings and forced the switches to the other side. Jay came bursting out from the force, and with it pushed Belén to the floor as well.

"Jay!" Caitlin ran for him while Iris went for Belén.

"I guess now we know how long the Velocity-9 lasts," Jay remarked with some humor.

"You okay?" Iris helped Belén stand up.

She nodded her head and dusted herself off. She cleared her throat to get Caitlin's attention then pointed at the portal rings. "Good?"

"Should be," Caitlin said as she and Jay hurried to check on the computers.

~ 0 ~

Barry had managed to speed everyone back into Harry's STAR Labs. It still didn't mean they were safe yet, though. "You need to get out of Central City, all right?" he stopped by his doppelganger and Iris. "Any place you think you'll be safe from Zoom."

"Yeah, we, um...I have some family in Atlantis that can help us," Iris responded nervously then glanced at her Barry.

He was shaking his head and stuttering, probably disoriented. "I'm not - she's still out-"

"Look, I'm going to close the breech that leads into my world but I swear I'm gonna find a cure for her," Earth 1 Barry promised. There was a split moment of confusion on his doppelganger's face, as if asking whether he really meant that. "She's _Belén_ \- I _have_ to help her. Think you understand…"

"Yeah…something like that," his doppelganger bowed his head. Iris put an arm around him comfortingly. "Help her...because it's obvious that I couldn't."

"Are you kidding? You reintroduced the concept of humanity in her," Iris said, blinking rapidly. "That's gotta count for something right?" she glanced at Earth-1 Barry for some confirmation.

"Definitely," he nodded. "You've put doubt in her actions and that counts for something _big_. Things could change now."

"Barry!" Cisco called from across the room. "Zoom is probably coming for us all!"

Because just as he said that, the alarms of the building began to blare.

~ 0 ~

Belén constantly coughed as they all now waited for their friends to come back through the breach. She suspected it was more of nervousness than actual pain she felt.

"It's almost time," Iris checked her phone again. She'd been doing it for five minutes straight.

"I don't care what time it is. After all we did to stabilize this breech, we're not closing until they show up," Joe said, dead serious. Belén hummed her agreement. "Y'all hear me?"

And suddenly, Cisco and Jesse came through, quite panic stricken.

"Get ready to close the breach for good - Zoom's coming!" Cisco shouted and released his grip on Jesse.

~ 0 ~

On the other side, Barry was just about to take hold of Harry when someone called through...

"Forgetting someone, Flash?" Zoom was holding onto Harry.

Barry forgot about the breech for a second and faced Zoom. "Let him go."

"I got a better idea…" an over-lapping voice spoke up. Barry was mortified, as well as horrified, to see Datura coming in with her hands billowing in blue, ice smoke...and her eyes flashing blue.

"Killer Frost…" he took a breath. She siphoned Killer Frost and…

"All dead," Datura's voice was a mixture of her own and the shaky Killer Frost. She raised a hand - which wore no glove at the moment - and fumed with blue snow. "I finally got the powers." She then glanced at Zoom beside her. "I don't actually need to be here right? I can go get my doppelganger?"

"You will stay until I say so," Zoom said, although it sounded more like a warning.

"Barry you have to close the breach," Harry was looking at the speedster with a significant look then letting his eyes lower to his own hand. Barry followed the movement to see Harry holding a syringe, unbeknownst to anyone else. "Tell Jesse I love her."

"Tell her yourself," Barry got himself ready for the big escape. Harry plunged the syringe into Zoom's clavicle. Zoom growled and dropped Harry as his hand clasped to his shoulder.

"NO!" Datura acted fast and debuted her new powers with a blast towards Barry. He, however, sped for Harry then zipped into the breech. "NOOO!" the woman screamed after him, helplessly.

~ 0 ~

On the other side, everyone was waiting anxiously for the last two of their friends to come through. Of course no one was more stricken than Belén and Jesse.

"It shouldn't be taking this long," Cisco swallowed hard. Just beside him was Jay, who was jittery as he was waiting to throw the last of the breech-sealers into the breech.

Iris went to check her phone again but Belén pushed it down and shook her head. They _were_ going to come through.

And then, finally, Barry came through with Harry. "Close it! Close it now!" the speedster frantically ordered.

Jay didn't hesitate and chucked the breech-sealer in. He hurried up to the portal rings to see it through...

The breech successfully closed.

Everyone burst into cheers.

Barry moved to hug Belén but involuntarily stilled when he saw her face. His mind just automatically went to Datura. He got rid of that fast and took Belén into his arms, the woman being far too happy seeing him back to notice the strange moment.

Caitlin was just about to run up to Jay when the breech gave one last blip of life and a black-suited arm struck through Jay's chest.

"NOO!" Caitlin's scream echoed in the room just as Zoom pulled Jay's corpse into the breech.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Loved finishing this two-parter! We finally get an insight into Datura's life before she turned into who she was. So I think we can all presume that from here on out the game will be changing against these Earth 2 metas!

 **P. S** : I also have a **tumblr** **account** dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I often drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	21. Oh Secret, my Secret

The road to recovery for everyone involved with STAR Labs was a long one and a difficult one. Their momentary win - which was to rescue Jesse Wells - had come at a mighty big cost...the death of Jay Garrick. No one took that part worse than Caitlin Snow who felt like she'd been thrown into the same old, awful story from last year. She'd gotten close to someone and they were ripped apart from her just like that. _Again_.

On that note, Barry couldn't stop blaming himself. If he hadn't been distracted, maybe he could have done something. Zoom wouldn't have gotten the last laugh if he'd been on the job. _There was too much to focus on_ , he kept telling himself as a means to console himself. Because it was true. The first thing he saw when he returned to his world was the face of his girlfriend, the same girlfriend he had to battle against in another world; the same girlfriend who was hell bent on killing his version of a girlfriend. That was a lot to take in. It was why he opted, at least for the moment, not to share everything from Earth 2 with the team. As far as anyone knew besides Cisco, Harry and Jesse, Datura had never revealed her true identity. She was still just a crazy siphoner to the rest.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything that could help me?" Belén would follow Barry around asking the same questions hoping he would suddenly remember a crucial detail about Datura that would help her fight. Because in Belén's mind, that final showdown was inevitable.

"Nope, sorry, can't think of anything," Barry would shrug and quickly try to change the topic.

Belén would just shake her head and turn to someone else who could help her. Harry didn't have any problems lying to her, and with his usual cold manners, Belén didn't insist too much with him. Cisco was a tougher one to manage but Barry made him see that for the moment it was better for Belén not to know the truth.

Jesse Wells was another story.

Because Jesse had gotten to know Datura a little bit more than most civilians would care to, it was hard not to attribute the woman's personality to Earth 1 Belén. Every time Belén would come near Jesse, whether it was to see how the girl was doing after moving permanently to Earth 1, Jesse would flinch away from Belén. The terrible fear in her eyes was not one Belén could ignore. Jesse tried to remember the fact this was another woman and not Datura. It wasn't the same metahuman who took pleasure in scaring her. It wasn't the same sick woman. No. This Belén seemed kind, seemed a bit out of it sometimes, and shy. This Belén was a metahuman who did _good_ to her city.

Barry thanked Jesse over and over for doing her best around Belén. He was confident that with time Jesse would learn that his Bells was nothing like her doppelganger. She could never be. But he sincerely hoped that her contrasting personality wouldn't become her weakness if she ever came face to face with Datura. It could be dangerous, and these thoughts were the ones that plagued Barry so often. They usually occurred when Belén seemed at her most innocent. Those usually turned out to be when she was asleep.

Lately, he had been sleeping over at her place.

Belén of course didn't question it. He seemed out of it for the longest of times, and she really only wanted to help however she could. Plus, she liked when he stayed over. Unfortunately, she didn't have the entire story.

Nights full of thoughts prevented Barry from sleeping, so he often laid with his eyes open and with a distant expression. Different scenes from Earth 2 would fill his mind, all usually surrounding Datura. He felt a terrible pit of guilt in his stomach every time he thought about her. He hadn't helped her yet and he hadn't told Belén about her. What a great boyfriend he was.

He turned on the bed when Belén shifted in her sleep. She was fast asleep, exhaling soft hums every now and then that indicated she was probably dreaming. Barry thought she looked peaceful, and he really wished he could keep it that way. What was the point in burdening her with Datura?

He put an arm over her and slowly scooted closer to her. There was a need in him to just hold her, to know that she was okay and certainly not evil and...sick. Belén made it easier when she once again shifted but this time in his direction. Barry smiled and got comfortable, snuggling to Belén, and resting his chin over her head. It was peaceful enough...hopefully it would foster some sleep in him.

~ 0 ~

When Belén woke up, she was a bit surprised to find that she was alone ( _again_ ). It became even more of a surprise when she saw that it was _very_ early. If there was one thing Belén knew about Barry, it was that he did _not_ like getting up early. The only times he was up before his alarm was when he had somewhere to be or he couldn't sleep. Knowing it was absolutely the latter, Belén got up from her bed and looked around, listening intently.

"Living room," she decided after a minute. She walked out into the living room and sure enough found Barry there, surrounded by different chemistry and biology books. Papers she saw with complicated equations were scattered on the floor and some falling from the table.

"What...is all this…?" she bent down to pick a paper up but Barry quickly swiped it from her hands.

"Don't!"

She blinked in surprise. She felt it chilly in the air and hugged herself, thanking for her long-sleeved shirt choice but scolding herself for not taking her blanket with her. "Did I interrupt some super geeky moment of yours?"

Barry lowered the book he was currently holding and smiled. "Sort of, yeah...sorry…" He was suddenly self-conscious about the mess he created in her living room. There was a ping of guilt in his chest additionally from the fact that it was all for a specific cure...for a specific doppelganger...

Belén raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "It's 7 a.m, Barry. I'm finding it _really_ hard to be attracted to you right now."

Barry opened his mouth to retort sarcastically but took into consideration the way he looked and the mess he had around him...and nodded his head. "Yeah, alright."

A soft laugh reverberated from Belén as she took a seat on the couch arm rest. "So what is my super geeky boyfriend up to at-" she yawned, "-seven a.m in the morning?"

"U-uh...just some...things…" Barry grabbed some papers off the floor and shuffled them to organize them. He relished, for once, in the lack of understanding Belén had for all the equations and information.

"Is this for your speed?" Belén opened a biology book and carelessly flipped through the pages.

"Uh...yes, yes it is," Barry nodded, not doubting for a second.

Belén yawned and closed the book. "God just looking at the pages makes me wanna fall asleep."

"Why don't you go do that, then?" Barry asked and immediately realized how that sounded. Belén was giving him a sarcastic offended face. "Not like that!" Barry quickly said, throwing the papers in his hands to turn to her. "I just m-meant...you know...because you're tired! And...it's very early...and...I love you?"

"Hm…" Belén slid down from the armrest to sit next to him. "You just don't want me around. Don't think I haven't noticed how weird you've been acting ever since you came back from Earth 2. And I know-" she added fast when Barry opened his mouth to speak, "-that a lot's happened. Jay getting murdered and then that huge, weird King Shark thing...but I get the feeling it's _me_ that you have a problem with."

"What?" if Barry hadn't already been sitting down he would've fallen back. "You think...what?" Oh god, here he was...messing things up even when he told himself he wouldn't!

Belén nodded her head. "Every time you look at me there's... _something_ in your eyes that...I don't know. I just feel like there's something new. And it makes me feel like I've done something."

"You did absolutely nothing wrong!" Barry went first to ease her guilt. "If anyone has done wrong it's me and only me. You've been incredible as usual and I'm just...being a completely horrible boyfriend as usual."

"Don't say that…" Belén smiled playfully. "You're not horrible you just have that annoying habit of bottling things up. Won't you please tell me what's gotten into you? I bet it's got to be from Earth 2, huh?"

Barry figured he couldn't keep hiding everything but...he also wasn't prepared to tell her the entire truth. Still, his head nodded without his consent.

"What happened there? I mean all we know is that you met Caitlin and Ronnie's doppelgangers who turned out to be evil...oh and Cisco's too," Belén said with some thought put into it. "What else did you see? Or who else? Is that what's bothering you? People you saw there?"

"Sort of…" Barry sighed and considered how to go about this for the meanwhile. "I saw Joe over there...practically get killed."

"Oh my God," Belén put a hand to her mouth. "What happened?"

"Killer Frost and Deathstorm happened."

"Oh my...and the...the Iris from there...did you…"

"My doppelganger knew her so, yeah…" Barry nodded, now avoiding her look for a moment. "Joe pushed her out of the way and he took the blow. Iris was devastated but...she took control and she helped us find Zoom."

"Really?" Belén asked, sounding unsure.

"She was a cop," Barry said to help her better picture it.

"Really!?" Belén was now smiling at the idea. "She wanted to be a cop here but her dad said no…"

"Yeah, well, she didn't take 'no' for an answer over there and she became the only Detective West on that planet. Joe was a jazz singer."

Belén chuckled. "No way. What else happened? Or who did you see? Did you see me? Cos...well, you saw everyone but...you haven't mentioned me. Did I exist? Did I know your doppelganger? Or did I know someone at least of our group?"

"Um…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck, hoping to be quick and come up with something easy and simple.

"You can tell me," Belén scooted closer to him, aware there was something holding him back. "Is this the problem? It has to do with the other me?"

"N-no!" Barry found himself saying before he could think rationally. "I mean, it's just...I saw you…" he began carefully, "And...and you were different…"

That was an understatement, he thought.

"What was different?"

Barry took a long breath, eyes flickering from her and down to his lap. "Your hair, um...it was dark. No blonde tips."

Belén's hands went to her loose (and messy) bed hair. "Really? Hm, I can't see myself with that...I've always liked dying my hair. Did I look okay though? The other me, I meant."

"Yeah…" Barry said without a second thought. Underneath that evil cockiness Earth 2 Belén wore, she was still a youthful beauty. She would probably get anyone to do anything for her if she just asked (psychopaths like Zoom didn't count of course).

"And did I…did I know any of you guys?" Belén couldn't help continue to be curious about her other self.

"Yeah...you did…" Barry looked at her in the eyes, "...you and I...we were actually, um...married…" And technically that wasn't a lie. Their doppelgangers were still - technically - married since Belén wasn't dead.

A bright red spread around Belén's face from the news. Her eyes, widened, blinked fast. "W-we were?" her hand came up to her cheek. "Like...like with the whole vows and everything? Rings too?"

Barry nodded his head. "Mhm. Everything. Even saw a picture of us. Well done by the way."

Belén laughed. "Thanks, I guess? Oh I can't believe it! We were married!"

Barry tried to look as happy as she did but it was impossible when he knew the full version of the story. He wouldn't let her know it for the meantime, not until he had come up with a cure or a way to re-open one breech.

"Is that why you've been looking at me weird?" Belén leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'd be weird too if I'd seen your doppelganger, honestly. What was hE he like?"

"Dorky," Barry made a face.

"Oh, so nothing's different then."

Barry did a double take at her, making her laugh. "Oh, you're _nice_." He put an arm around her and used his grip to bring her over to his lap. "I was a 'dork' but a CSI too…"

"So definitely the same," Belén laughed again.

"Yeah, whatever…"

Belén slowly sobered to get back to the issue she'd first asked about. "So then...you're better now? This was why you were weird…?"

"Yes," Barry did his best to look convincing for her.

Apparently he did because she was smiling quite proudly. She grabbed his face and planted a kiss on him. "Can we go back to sleep now? It's _really_ early."

Thinking it was probably for the best, Barry agreed. He took her hands - which were cold but he would never tell - and took them back to Belén's bedroom where they would hopefully get some more sleep.

~ 0 ~

At work, Belén was deeply focused on her computer. She'd been inspired to write a new article - a lengthy one - that would hopefully inspire a new sense of hope for metahumans that were just like her. Her fingers danced over her keyboard to the point where she earned several looks from her co-workers passing by.

"You are going to break that keyboard," Iris laughed when she stopped by. She might have also leaned forwards just to see if there was any smoke coming from the keyboard. "Watch out Flash."

Belén rolled her eyes and lifted her hands off the keyboard. "Ha, ha, so funny."

"I am," Iris proudly said. "So, can I know what this new article is about that's nearly costing you a computer?"

"I've been doing some thinking lately about my..." Belén's eyes did a quick scan of the place to make sure none of their co-workers were listening to them, but still whispered her next word, "...metahuman side." She leaned back against her chair, hands coming together on her lap. "I realize that it has taken me _forever_ to get a handle on my powers. And the only reason I even got there is because Shivhan showed me the Green."

"That's not the _only_ reason and you know it," Iris put her hands on her hips, not about to let Belén once again belittle her own work. "Shivhan may have shown you the Green but _you're_ the one who worked her ass off. _You_ put Poison Ivy away."

Belén couldn't help the smile that spread across her face just from remembering that detail. _She_ put Poison Ivy away. She'd taken down the vicious metahuman despite her shortcomings in regards to powers. It did make her a bit proud of herself. "Alright, my point here is that...the Green taught me a lot. It's also given me this sense of... _belonging_. It's where I come from."

"I'm glad you did," Iris smiled softly at her friend. She loved seeing Belén like this - they only had rare moments of happiness after all.

"I want other metahumans like me to know that there's a place where they can get a handle on their powers, where they can meet people like them. Plus, a lot of them are afraid of Datura and if they learn about the Green, then they learn how to defend themselves."

"That all sounds really good..."

"I sense there's a 'but' coming there," Belén raised an eyebrow at Iris (who had scrunched her face out of guilt). "What is it?"

"It's a really good idea," Iris began, which was just another warning that the 'but' was coming. "I think it would definitely help people-"

"-get on with it," Belén made a gesture with her hand.

Iris sighed deeply. "But...I don't think you'll get Scott to publish it." Belén rolled her eyes at the mention of their picky editor. "You saw how difficult it was to pass my Flash vs Zoom story last week. And I thought it was a pretty good one."

"It _was_ ," Belén assured her. She remembered how hard Iris had to fight with Scott just to pass the article that only pointed out Zoom's disappearance from the city, indicating that perhaps the Flash was responsible for it. Iris thought it would provide the public with a feeling of safety, but Scott thought it was just another fluff piece for the Flash.

Sometimes, Belén really hated Scott.

"I think you should talk about it with Scott first before you continue writing what promises to be a masterpiece," Iris made a gesture at the computer where she could see several pages of Belén's new-coming article.

Belén nodded silently. It was a good suggestion but she didn't exactly know how to go about it.

~ 0 ~

Barry and the others in STAR Labs returned to the building after a failed training session. In his defense, though, the training session had involved him running acorss a huge canyon with a _very_ deep fall. He almost plummeted to his death had it not been for a drone.

Jesse, who had stayed behind and taken advantage to learn a little more about this world, curiously glanced at the incoming group. "So how'd it go?"

"Scooch," Cisco motioned her to get out of the seat she was in. Rolling her eyes, Jesse obeyed but also had her popcorn stolen by Cisco.

"Hey!" Belén came into the cortex a few seconds later. "How'd the training go?" her eyes laid on Barry but he looked away almost as soon as she'd turned her attention on him. "Not...not good?"

"He's not a red splat on the side of a mountain," Harry answered when he set his things down on a nearby table.

"Oh..."

"So, you didn't make the canyon jump?" Jesse then turned to Barry who had shaken his head disappointingly.

"No," he muttered then called to the others. "What else can we try?"

"A bigger canyon?" Cisco retorted and promptly received a smack upside the head from Belén. She hadn't exactly been in favor of the first canyon jump idea. "Okay, fine, no more canyons," he then amended and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know I can crack this. I've just been going about it wrong," Barry told himself, out loud, for some motivation. "I need to find my leg up. Have we factored in drag? Wells, can we rerun the simulation?"

Harry shook his head, seeming weary. "Let it go for now."

That did not sit well with Barry. "Zoom's still out there. He's terrorizing a whole world full of people, your world. You know, I'm not doing this for fun."

"Barry, we've been working on this all week," Caitlin joined in on the idea. "You're tired, we're tired."

Cisco turned on his chair, already garnering some excitement as he got up. "Yeah, what we need is some downtime. Downtime leads to increased productivity, ergo we have to have fun!"

"You couldn't have just said we 'needed a break'?" Belén raised an eyebrow at him.

"Shush!" Cisco pointed a finger at her and continued with his direction. "And the best way to have fun is for us to go out to the club! Am I right, Team Flash? Let's get turnt!"

"I am not going anywhere with you if you say 'turnt' again," Belén warned.

Cisco got serious then. "Fine. We need a break. Happy?"

"The English vocabulary thanks you."

"She can't come," Cisco told Barry and jerked his thumb at Belén.

The woman in question made a noise of offence as Cisco walked out of the room. "I can...I can still go right?" Barry and Caitlin exchanged amused looks but Belén was serious. "He was just kidding right?" her hand flung to her forehead. "Oh my God I was mean. I'm gonna go apologize. Cisco!" Barry didn't even try to stop her. She rambled onto herself about her apology as she hurried after Cisco.

Jesse was staring in a dumbfounded way after Belén, still unable to believe _she_ was the doppelganger of Datura. "If I had met _her_ first, I would've not been afraid of Datura."

Caitlin glanced at the younger woman, confused. "What?"

Barry quickly turned to Jesse, making a cutting motion across his neck. Jesse stuttered but ultimately made an excuse for herself.

"Everyone on this Earth is just so soft. It would've been hard to take anyone seriously on my Earth," Jesse nervously smiled. Caitlin hummed and started to leave as well.

"Please, you've got to be more careful," Barry said to Jesse when Caitlin was finally gone.

"I know, I'm sorry! It's just hard trying to separate the woman who terrorized me for three months from this version," Jesse gestured after Belén. "Remind me again why we can't tell her anything?"

"Because he thinks it'll somehow help fighting against Datura," Harry carried off his duffel bag of tools. "I don't need to actually tell you how that's not gonna work out, right?"

Barry rolled his eyes. He heard this lecture from him already, plus Cisco. He definitely was not aiming to go for a third time. "I'm trying to think of a way to say it right."

"There _is_ no way to say it right," Harry flatly said. "Rip it off like a bandage, Allen. The earlier Belén knows, the better it'll be for her later on."

Barry hated that it was true. "I know," he sighed. "I'm gonna tell her, just...not tonight."

"Or the next one, or the next one…" Jesse smirked teasingly. "And probably not the next one either…"

Barry tried to ignore her teasing but Jesse turned out to be a lot better at that than at keeping the secrets.

~ 0 ~

Later that night, the group got ready to meet at the club that'd been decided by... _someone_. While they waited for Iris and Wally to join them, the group - and Jesse - got seated at the bar counter to get some drinks.

"Not exactly karaoke themed, huh…?" Belén flashed both Barry and Caitlin some smirks. She didn't know who looked more mortified: Barry or Caitlin.

"Belén, _don't_ ," Barry pointed a finger at her, but the woman laughed to herself.

"Did someone say karaoke?" Shivhan popped in behind them, eyes flickering between the pair curiously. "I hate karaoke - who loves that?"

"Barry and Caitlin," Belén didn't hesitate to say.

"Belén!" exclaimed Barry.

"What? What is it?" Jesse excitedly asked her instead, ignoring Barry's pleading motion not to keep going. Caitlin just had that mother's disappointment look but Belén was good at ignoring those.

"Let's just say that Caitlin should stick to her scientist job because as a singer…" Belén pursed her lips together and waited for Caitlin to do something.

Jesse glanced at Caitlin on her left. "I regret getting drunk," was all Caitlin was going to say.

"And then Barry…" Belén put a hand on her boyfriend's arm, "...turns out he could leave his job for the singing life." Jesse and Shivhan laughed together, almost becoming instant friends over the one matter. "Do you want to see the video I took of them? It's hilarious!"

"I will literally pay to see that!" Shivhan had to get near the table to support her body with it because her laughter was too strong.

" _Dude_ ," Cisco shook his head at Barry, leaving the speedster even more mortified than before.

Just as Belén began digging into her purse, Barry saw the bartender putting down their drinks in front of them and took his chance. "Oh, hey! Drinks! Here!"

Belén received her small glass with abruptness but ultimately smiled and waited for the others to get their drinks too. "Toast?" she asked happily.

"To Jay," Caitlin said after raising her drink first. Everyone repeated their friend's name and raised their glasses to the air. Caitlin lowered her hand, a thoughtful expression sitting on her face. "I wonder what Jay would say if he was here right now."

"What's a Kamikaze'?" Cisco imitated Jay's voice for a moment. "And then you'd spend ten minutes explaining it. And he'd say, 'Just kidding. We have those on Earth-2.'"

Jesse playfully rolled her eyes and neared her glass to her lips. "Yeah, well, we don't have those, so…"

Just as she was about to take a drink, Shivhan leaned over and took the glass from her. "Eh-eh, I'm sorry, Miss Underage."

"Ah!" Jesse tried holding onto her drink in vain.

"Sorry, it's the bartender in me," Shivhan gladly drank Jesse's cup until it was completely empty. "Also, I'm a professional drinker." She whistled for the bartender to come by again. "Another one, please!"

Jesse forgot all about her stolen drink due to the fact her watch was beeping nonstop. "Ah, this thing's annoying. I'll be back." She hurried through the crowds and was lost within the minute.

"She's cute," Shivhan said afterwards. "You should probably keep her away from me cos, you know." She had accepted her new drink and gestured to it as an example. "I like me some drinks."

"She's really nice but honestly, sometimes I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much," Belén admitted now that it was just them. She missed Barry and Cisco nearly choking on their drinks while she was wallowing in her moment. "I feel like I scare her or something."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Caitlin assured her. "She's just gone through a lot and she's probably adjusting still."

"Plus, kids are weird," Shivhan thought her input was a truly important detail that no one should overlook. "Who knows what's going on inside her head."

"Probably how weird you are," Cisco shook his head. "Hey Cait, I know I'm practically your brother, and I'm, like, half Jay's size, but you want to dance?" He thought it'd be a good way to steer the conversation away from Belén and Jesse. Barry sure seemed grateful for it.

Caitlin swayed her head thoughtfully then smiled. "Sure. C'mon, let's go."

"Shivhan?" Cisco motioned the woman brunette to come along as well. She did, but not without her drink in hand.

Belén laughed to herself as she and Barry watched the trio go towards the dance floor. "That'll be a sight to see." True to her words, Cisco almost immediately began to throw out some odd moves that had poor Caitlin looked around with embarrassment.

Barry nearly lost it when Shivhan raised her free hand and said "Absolutely not" then walked away with her drink.

"You know, when we almost dated...Cisco asked if I wanted to go on a dancing date…" Belén said in-between her laughs, "I am so glad I said 'no'."

"So am I," Barry put his glass down. He rested his arms on the table and looked at Belén. He noticed her ever-lasting smile and her constant shifting. "You okay?"

"Um…" Belén scratched her head, "...I'm fine, I'm just…" she shook her head, still smiling but now with a twinge of embarrassment.

"What?" Barry nudged her on the side with his arm.

Belén chuckled, and if it hadn't been for the multiple lights in the club Barry would have noticed her blush. "It's weird…"

"Well, we're all weird, so...c'mon…" Barry nudged her again and shared a small laugh with her.

"It's just...what you told me this morning...about us…" Belén sheepishly looked at him, "...being married in another world...it's just weird," she ended up laughing again.

 _You have no idea_ , Barry thought and cleared his throat.

Belén released a big breath but ended up chuckling again. "It's weird, you know? Like...like someone else is living our lives... _ahead_ of us. What do you think our doppelgangers are doing right now?"

"Probably Earth-2's equivalent of 'Netflix and chill,'" Barry blurted thinking about the ideal marriage life he would like to have but then he thought of the true nature of Datura and Earth 2 Barry's relationship. _She's evil and he's in hiding_ , he reminded himself. That was _not_ what he envisioned as married life with Belén.

However, since Belén didn't know about the real situation of their doppelgangers, she laughed. "Right…sounds nice…" she glanced with a sly smile on her face. "For them...I meant…"

"Right," Barry mocked her for a second. He leaned closer to her, coyness on his face. "For _them_?"

"For them…" Belén lightly nodded her head.

"You sure…?" Barry stopped just in front of her. His eyes would flicker from her eyes to her lips.

"This is most certainly not the place to be discussing this," Belén said but her tone implied a sauciness that Barry just could not ignore.

"Your fault for looking extra good tonight," Barry said plainly. "Had I known that, _that_ option was on the table I would've never came here."

"Ooh…" Belén let her lips brush over his, "...well you should have said something."

A huge smirk was visible on Barry's face before he kissed her. Belén snaked an arm around his neck to keep him right with her. Barry was all for pleasing her so he leaned in closer, deepening their kiss. It was almost like they were forgetting where they were.

Fortunately they had someone to remind them.

"I never imagined I would see Barry in a _club_ and much less making out with a hot girl," Iris laughed when she and Wally approached the table. Barry threw her a sarcastically annoyed glance while Belén just leaned on him, embarrassed of course. "Now I hope I _never_ see that again," Iris finished with a second laugh.

"Hi, Iris," Belén greeted shyly, letting Barry away them a little. "Hi, Wally."

"Hey, interesting choice of venue. The tic-tac-toe theme is cool," Wally said in an effort to move on from the awkwardness.

"Cisco picked it," Barry went fast, leaving Belén's answer to go a bit after.

"Barry picked it!"

Barry looked down at her, offended she'd rat him out like that. "I...for real?"

Belén nodded, not seeming a bit bothered. "I know what you can't do now: pick places to have fun. That's what you can't leave your job for."

Barry gave in with a sigh. "Yeah, alright. I picked it. I don't go out much. It had four stars on Yelp, so…"

"Yelp," Belén repeated and struggled not to laugh. "Iris, you ruined him!"

"What!?" Iris incredulously responded, close to laughing herself. "Me!?"

"You were supposed to get him out of the house! Sneak out and try new places?"

"I am standing right here," Barry cut their small argument off. He looked between them both, utterly offended.

They barely got another laugh when something strong rushed through the place. The four were momentarily pushed in different directions as something - or rather someone - sped from one place to the next.

"It was the Flash!" a random woman cried when the speedster had left.

"My wallet's gone!" went another woman.

"HEY! They stole my drink!" Shivhan's enraged voice overpowered the others. Her empty hand was now balled and ready to throw some punches.

Belén quickly searched for her own purse and scowled when she saw it was gone. She held onto her left hand which still, thankfully, had her promise ring. "My purse is gone too," she glanced back but Barry was already gone after the mysterious metahuman.

Caitlin and Cisco came rushing out of the dance floor, both missing valuable items as well. They would later learn from Barry that it was indeed another speedster but, unfortunately, one who seemed impossibly faster than him as well.

~0~

The next day, at CC Picture News, Iris stopped by Belén's desk with some new information. She'd visited the crime scene earlier that morning to see what else she could find out. Things were not looking good.

"I spoke to a woman that was there and she snapped a photo of the red blur," Iris handed her phone to Belén so she could see the image. "Look familiar?"

"Oh, crap," Belén sighed as she gazed at almost the same image Iris had once had taken a year ago. "Same angle and everything…" she gave Iris her phone back.

"Mhm," Iris put her phone away.

"Iris, we can't show that to anyone," Belén said, eyeing some of their co-workers passing by.

"That's gonna be a little hard…" Iris apologized beforehand.

Because five minutes later, their editor Scott Evans called for a meeting. The picture had already made its round online. He proudly turned a laptop around for all the writers to see.

"Here it is, people: evidence that the Flash has gone rogue!"

"It could be a different speedster, obviously," Belén didn't hesitate to remark from her spot. She had a face that said she was not going to keep her opinions quiet.

Evans seemed to be expecting it. He made a round on the table, upholding Belén's stare. "The photo speaks for itself. No helmet glare that would have been given if it was the other Speedster we saw a couple weeks ago."

"So then who's to say it's not another?"

"Who's to say that it isn't?"

Belén stared at him for a good long minute. The rest of the workers, including Iris, awkwardly glanced from Belén to Evans, waiting to see who would break eye contact first.

"The picture could be any speedster with a red trail," Belén finally spoke again. "True or false?"

"True. But since there hasn't been any records, right now we're going to assume that it is the Flash. Got it?" Evans asked in a sort of authoritative tone, as if to remind her that _she_ worked for _him_. Belén didn't answer. She focused on her papers instead. Evans then began to hand out assignments for the rest of the table. "McKay, I want you at the police department getting any interview you can. Williams, eyewitness encounters. The people of this city need to know what it feels like to be robbed by a hero. West, Palayta, I want you both to do a piece on it from your perspectives. You were there last night. You've seen him in action."

Belén was about to snap so Iris quickly jumped in. "Okay, but why would the Flash need to make off with a couple of hundred bucks when he's saved so many lives? I mean, he _is_ actually a hero. It doesn't make sense."

"Iris, you're a smart woman. You can't be that naive. We live in a city full of meta-humans who continually do whatever they want, the Flash included. I wouldn't be surprised if the Azalea robbed the bank tomorrow," Evans responded back. Iris would have remarked about that but she saw Belén was close to snapping her pencil in two. "Write it up, his journey from streak to freak, due on my desk tomorrow."

The workers dispersed to get started on their respective assignments but Belén and Iris lagged to get to their desks. Safe to say the omber-blonde was fuming.

"He is out of his damn mind if he thinks I am writing that garbage," she placed her work on her desk just a bit too loud. "What?" she hissed at some of the odd stares she got because of it.

Iris blocked her view to avoid further problems. "You need to calm down before you end up losing your job."

"I'm not writing that-"

"Well, we have a day until it's die so that means we have a day to figure out _who_ the real criminal is."

Belén agreed with a nod. "Fine, but I still hate him."

"Why don't you take off instead? Evans will think you're just gonna go do that assignment away from here," Iris didn't exactly wait for Belén to respond because she was already getting Belén's purse off the desk.

"You're afraid I'm gonna beat the crap out of him, aren't you?"

"Yes," Iris held the purse out and smiled.

A small laugh erupted from Belén's lips. "50% close to it, not gonna lie."

"Go!" Iris exclaimed and pointed her to the door. "And maybe you can think about a way to approach him about that article you want to publish?"

Belén's face fell when she remembered that. Turns out, she might just need to be nice to the guy now.

~0~

Being the only sound place she could think of, Belén went to STAR Labs to see how her friends were doing with their case. Just as she was coming out of the elevator, she saw Barry and Cisco walking down from the other end of the corridor.

"Hey, you're early," Barry noted as they met each other halfway.

"Yeah, well, Iris thought it would be better if I stayed away from CCPN for the rest of the day…"

"Why?"

"Hm, because I am so close to snapping my boss in two," Belén sounded like she was promising, even raising her index finger to her thumb to show just how close she was to doing it.

Cisco couldn't help awkwardly laugh and say, "You sounded just like-" but Barry caught him and abruptly whacked him on the stomach.

Of course Belén saw it and became confused. "I sounded like what?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all," Cisco couldn't stop smiling so Belén wouldn't buy his excuse.

"No, say it," she demanded. "That's the second time you say something like that and act all...weird. Even more weird than you usually do."

"Bells, he's just messing around," Barry took her hand to lead her into the cortex.

"Yeah, well, I'm not liking it!"

Barry threw Cisco a 'get it together' look to which Cisco meekly smiled back.

"Hey Bells," Caitlin greeted and, unknowingly, took some of the heat off Cisco.

"Hi, Caitlin," Belén greeted with a sigh and took the seat next to her. "Any news on the speedster? Because I'm about to lose my job over it."

"Nope," Caitlin shook her head, although afterwards she (along with Barry and Cisco) gave Belén an odd look for her choice of words.

"Our editor Evans wants me and Iris to do a piece that would basically bash on the Flash."

Cisco let out a giggle. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Shut up!" snapped Belén, rolling her eyes. "I mean it. And what's worse is that I have to be nice to him if I want my next idea published." Once more, she received the same confused stares from her friends. "I just came up with this new idea for an article that would be all about introducing the Green to botanical metahumans, explaining to them that there's this place that can help them control their powers, learn new abilities and just a place where they can meet others like them."

"That sounds really nice, Bells," Barry smiled at her softly. It'd been a while since she'd been inspired that passionately and he didn't want anyone to ruin it, especially that Evans guy. He'd heard from Iris that Evans wasn't so nice. "It would definitely help botanical metahumans."

"Yeah but Evans won't pass it," Belén sighed. "He already thinks that I favor metahumans a lot-"

"-which you do," Cisco chimed in, thinking it was only a fair point to admit a fact. "But it's not bad!"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I already have a good portion written and I have more ideas...I just don't know how I'm gonna convince Evans, especially when I tell him I'm not writing his stupid piece."

"Yeah, that'll make it harder," Caitlin bit her lower lip, only offering Belén an apologetic smile because none of them really know what to do to help Belén.

Belén chuckled. "I have to figure something out."

"And you will," Barry moved behind her chair and lowered to kiss her head. "Nothing stands in the Azalea's way."

Belén happily took his comforting kisses. She'd noticed that he'd been a bit more...clingy lately. And 'clingy' wasn't exactly the word she would use, but it started there. Barry would hug her more, sometimes for no reason, surprise her with kisses (all types of kisses) and sometimes she would catch him giving her some odd looks that she just couldn't figure out. It was nice having all the extra attention, but she couldn't help feel like she was missing something.

"So what do we have on this new speedster, then?" Barry had moved the conversation along, nonethewiser about what was running through Belén's head at the moment. His hands were resting over her shoulders, rubbing circles over her skin.

"We've double-checked to make sure that the breaches are closed and...they are," Cisco sighed, sparing his computer a glance as if things would be different that time.

"So how do we know this isn't another of Zoom's henchmen that just has the power to open breaches?" Belén looked at the three scientists for a good explanation. "I mean, Cisco, you said your doppelganger could do all sorts of manipulations with energy. Or…" she drawled, swaying her head, "...how do we know that our fellow siphoner hasn't found that power yet?"

Once more, Cisco got some heat when he choked on his coffee. Barry felt like he would end up speeding Cisco into the pipeline just so that he wouldn't mess things up again.

"She's got a point there," Caitlin, being the only of the two scientists to not know about Datura and Belén, begun to think about it herself. "If Datura could actually manage to siphon a meta with breacher powers, she could very well be using it to bring metahumans over here like Zoom."

"She's not!" Barry said, a tad sharply too. Belén looked between him and Cisco with a confused expression yet increasingly turning annoyed. "I-I mean, Datura was really sick the last time we saw her. I mean, _really_ sick. I doubt she'll be siphoning anytime soon." Belén's gaze still lingered on him, something that made Barry shift on his feet even more.

"The only other way to become a speedster is from a particle accelerator explosion," Cisco ventured to once more take Belén's attention. "But even then, it doesn't make sense because why would they make themselves known _now_?"

"Actually," Caitlin looked up from the computers, "There _is_ another way."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked.

"Caitlin…" Belén murmured, now attracting suspicious looks from Barry and Cisco.

Caitlin got up from her chair to go retrieve what was left of Velocity nine. She came back with the only vial left. "It's called Velocity-9…"

"Ooh, that's a sexy-ass name," Cisco remarked.

"What is it?" Barry eyed the odd red liquid in the vial.

"It's a speed drug. Jay took it when you were on Earth-2 to save the city from a meta-human."

Barry opened his mouth but, from his surprise, nothing really came out. He glanced at Belén to see what she had to say but she didn't want to look him in the eyes. "H-how...how could you not tell me this? Either of you?"

"I promised Jay I wouldn't," Caitlin said.

"Jay, what do you... why?"

"Because Jay knew how dangerous this drug is," Harry came in with a duffel bag over his shoulder. "I should know, Barry; Snow and I worked on it together."

Barry was bordering between confusion and anger. "Guys, I have been busting my butt out there, pushing myself to the limit, trying to get better, trying to be faster, and you're telling me that there's been something this whole time that could've helped me?"

"It's a _drug_ , Barry," Belén finally spoke up. "Do we really need to explain to you why we didn't say anything?"

"Jay was sick," Caitlin added, her voice shaking a bit. "The drug that he took to regain his speed was also causing cellular degeneration. It was killing him. I tried to help, I tried to find a cure, but in all my experiments, the effects were just temporary. The V-9 is deadly."

"Why not tell me this?" Barry insisted, frankly feeling a little betrayed. The again, when he looked at Belén's guilty face he saw flashes of her doppelganger and remembered _his_ secret.

"Because it's dangerous," Belén saw nothing of his guilt. She got up from her seat and turned to him. "If it's dangerous, I didn't want it near you. I'm sorry."

The guilt was rising. Barry took her hand from his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin's sudden question made everyone see that Cisco was in that lost, distant moment he usually got into when he…

"Did you vibe?" asked Harry.

Cisco was standing beside Jay's helmet under the glass casing. "Uh…" Cisco barely got himself out of his vibe when the metahuman alert went off. "Metahuman!" he dashed for the desk. "Yeah, social media app for the win. Bad Flash is back." He caught himself after a second and shook his head. "Bad Flash... what? No. I'm losing my touch over here."

"I'll get him," Barry said and sped out of the place.

"Thanks for the head's up with Velocity-9," Belén mumbled to Caitlin.

"Sorry," went the brunette.

"He's coming up on Fifth and Everett," Cisco was guiding Barry through the streets. "You can use the alley to cut him off."

But Barry wasn't able to cut them off, because _she_ had thrown him over the top of a cab. Barry toppled over and fell to the roadside with glass shattering all around him. The speedster, turning out to be a petite, dark-haired woman in a red and yellow suit stopped only to smugly smile at Barry.

~ 0 ~

Cisco went ballistic with joy after hearing what Barry had to say about their new speedster. "A _lady_ speedster!" he couldn't stop laughing despite standing by Caitlin who was taking care of Barry's injuries. "It only took us two years, but we finally got one, a lady speedster."

Not everyone shared his laugh.

Cisco put his hands together and moved closer to Barry. "Hey, here's a question for you, purely scientific, was she good-looking?"

"Yeah-" Belén pushed Cisco to the side and gave Barry a rather threatening stare, "-was she?"

"You know, I was a little busy getting my ass handed to me, so I didn't really notice anything," Barry told them both but did flash Belén a little smile. "Not that I wanted to."

"Good answer."

"Right, right, right, but, you know, next time, for science?" Cisco still persisted.

"Okay, yeah, next time she punches me in the face, I'll be sure to get her number."

"That'd be the last thing you'd do, I swear," Belén's smirk made Barry rethink about even joking about. He swore that she was purposely acting like her doppelganger would...or maybe that was just the guilt talking?

"Hey," Veronica walked into the cortex to see the bad sight that was Barry's face. "Ouch, that had to hurt. Did it hurt though? Cos of your, you know...fast healing and all?"

Barry, amused, smiled. "A bit."

"Alright, well, CCPD has zero idea who this speedster is and now all the fingers are pointing at..." Veronica's finger landed on Barry, apologetically smiling at him. "Joe's trying to do damage control right now but...we really need to figure out who the speedster is."

"She's a _she_ ," Cisco giggled, earning himself a strange look from Veronica.

"Seriously, you need a date," Belén patted his shoulder.

"Maybe we could run her face through facial recognition?" Veronica asked, but they all shook their heads.

"She had a mask on," Barry explained.

Caitlin stepped back when she finished with his cut on his cheek. Barry thanked her and started back for the cortex, dropping a kiss on Belén's hair just to get on her good side.

"What was her suit like?" Cisco kept asking much to the annoyance of the others save Harry.

"Hey," Caitlin gave him a scolding look.

"It's a valid question," Cisco raised his hands in defense.

"It is, actually," Harry spoke up to agree then asked Barry himself. "How was her suit constructed?"

"It was good," Barry admitted as he thought back to the suit of the woman. "It was very good. It was like mine. It was made by somebody who understands the needs of a speedster."

"So she has to be a scientist, then?" Belén theorized. "Or at least know someone in the field?"

"Access to tech and a lab," Harry pointed at her.

Caitlin suddenly went wide-eyed when she realized something. "Oh, no. I'm having a very bad thought." She hurried over to the desk to pull something up from the computers. In no time she had pulled up the profile of a young, brunette woman for them to see. "When I designed V-9, I was having trouble formatting the extracellular matrix, so I called a colleague of mine at Mercury Labs for some assistance, Eliza Harmon."

"She knows how to make this speed drug?" Barry asked, not liking where this was going.

"No, I followed the protocols of information compartmentalization. I only gave her three of the eight components necessary for V-9's structure."

"Okay, so she didn't have the full recipe…"

"Unless she reverse engineered her own V-9," Harry chimed in.

"Eliza's a genius, but that's way out of character for her," Caitlin didn't want to think her own friend was using something so dangerous to _steal_.

"Well, it's worth taking a look," Veronica resolved.

"I'll go see her," Caitlin took responsibility and shut the computer off. She wanted to see Eliza for herself and hoped to God that her friend wouldn't lie to her face.

"Can I come?" Belén suddenly asked. She wasn't even surprised with the other's puzzled looks. "I just...you know...I want to start the article that's going to bash the new speedster instead of you, Barry."

"Right," Veronica nodded as she cast a suspicious gaze on her daughter. "You won't be able to talk to her, though."

"That's okay," Belén dismissed the crucial detail that would craft her article. She grabbed her bag off the desk and hurried after her mother and Caitlin.

~0~

When the trio of women arrived at Mercury Labs, Belén was all for going inside until her mother pulled her back and told Caitlin to go ahead.

"Why aren't we going in?" Belén asked her mother once Caitlin had crossed through the entrance doors of the building.

"Because you obviously can't talk to me if I'm interrogating some other woman," Veronica motioned her daughter to return to the car and while Belén did, she did with confusion.

"But...we can't just leave Caitlin-"

"-don't worry about it, I texted Joe before coming. He's already waiting inside."

"You said he was doing damage control at the precinct!"

"Yeah, now I owe him _so_ -" Veronica leaned against the side of her car and crossed her arms, "-why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

Belén blinked and nearly laughed for being read so easily. "I'm not...there's nothing in my...what?" Veronica raised an eyebrow at her, staring at her until Belén stopped laughing. "Okay fine, maybe there is," she lowered her head, feeling like a child who'd been caught. "How did you know?"

"It's on your face," Veronica said. "I've actually began learning how to read them." Veronica had said that in a bittersweetness that Belén picked up on straightaway. She knew she should've learned how to read Belén's expressions long ago, like when she was a _child_. But to have learned that, she should've been with her daughter and other children from the start. Veronica deeply regretted it and it would always be her biggest regret.

"You're doing good, Mom," Belén said after a few seconds, offering her mother a kind smile. It did make Veronica feel a bit better.

"Alright so tell me what's going on?"

Belén sighed. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here. Barry's been acting strange ever since he got back from Earth 2."

"I would think so considering the things he saw and went through in that other world..."

"I know but...I just think there's something else," Belén folded her arms and thought about the weird moments she'd had so far with him. "He's been extra attentive lately. I get all these extra hugs and kisses and...he's just extra there for me."

"Hey, if a man wants to give you more attention, then you let it happen," Veronica shrugged. "Your father used to shower me with gifts whenever he royally screwed up."

Belén chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"All I'm saying is, maybe the reason Barry's acting like that is because of what happened on Earth 2. He said he almost didn't make it back. That can make him really appreciate what he has on this Earth."

Belén nodded. She could definitely understand that logic but it wasn't enough to quench her suspicions. "There's more, Mom. He's kind of...secretive? Sometimes I see him very focused on his work but when he sees _me_ _..._ he scrambles to close things and get my attention off it. And when I ask him about the work, he gives me obscure answer and then really tries to get my attention somewhere else."

"Okay, maybe that's cause for alarm. Usually when somebody doesn't want you to see something of theirs it's because it's wrong. Either that or they're cheating..."

Belén's eyes widened in terrible alarm. "What-"

"-but he's not!" Veronica quickly said, motioning with her hands for Belén not to even go down that road. "Barry is not that type. From what you've told me, he could barely talk to _you_ on a date. It's not that sweetie."

Belén shook her head. Of course it couldn't be that. She had to stop being so dramatic. "Okay, but you agree that there _is_ something going on with him, right?" she came to stand next to her mother, leaning against the car too. "I'm not worrying over nothing?"

"I'm not saying that you should worry. Sometimes scientists just really get into their work - I also say that from experience," Veronica rolled her eyes, making Belén laugh as she wondered what her father used to do with his work that would have Veronica so upset. "Who knows, maybe Barry's just working on some CCPD stuff. He is, after all, the forensics. Some of the cases are just too gruesome and _I_ wouldn't want you to see them either."

"So what do you think I should do?" Belén bit her lower lip.

"Honestly? The most logical thing you can do: talk to him?"

"Yeah, I had a feeling you might say that," Belén said but offered her mother another smile. "But thanks for listening to me. It's nice having my Mom to talk to about these things."

Veronica smiled back and put an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "I know I've missed out on a lot of them but I promise I'm going to be here from now on. Until the day I die and I plan on living a very long life, so..." she swayed her head, "I might be here for the grandkids' problems."

" _Oh_!" Belén laughed with flushed cheeks. "Right!"

~ 0 ~

When Belén and Caitlin returned, they found Cisco working quietly in the cortex. Belén put a finger over her mouth, warning Caitlin not to make a noise as they stepped in. Caitlin smiled, barely able to restrain her laugh as Belén tip-toed up to Cisco's chair.

"HEY CISCO!"

"Jesus!" Cisco's arms flailed in the air from fear. He jumped right out of his chair and faced the two laughing women. "That was - that was not funny!"

"Then why are we laughing?" Belén had an arm around her stomach from how hard she was laughing.

Cisco's face fell flat. "You are very bad friends."

"Would a bad friend bring you new twizzlers?" Belén asked and motioned to her bag where said candy would be.

Cisco's eyes flickered between the bag and Belén. "...all is forgiven but show me the candy." He walked up to her while Caitlin went to go leave her things at the desk. Something on Cisco's computer caught her attention, though.

"Alright, alright, don't go digging through my things," Belén swatted Cisco's hand away so she could pull out the new packet of twizzlers.

"Glorious!" Cisco cheered when he had the packet in his hand. He didn't waste a second and ripped it open.

"I've never seen anyone so happy over twizzlers," Belén shook her head. Cisco already had a piece of a Twizzler in his mouth by then.

"Hey Cisco, what are you working on exactly?" Caitlin called from the desk. Now that she'd taken a better look at the computer screen, she was puzzled and, frankly, a bit curious.

Cisco's eyes widened in alarm. He dashed for the desk, yelling a her to get away from it. "It's just something I was looking into!"

Caitlin raised an eyebrow and checked to see Belén's reaction. The ombre-blonde nodded her head. There was something fishy going on.

"J-just something," Cisco repeated after turning the screen off. He turned around with a wide smile on his face as he offered them the Twizzler bag. "Twizzler?"

"I'll take one," Belén held her hand out for the packet. Cisco gladly walked over to her to change the subject only when he did, Caitlin dashed back for the desk and turned the computer screen back on.

"Caitlin!" Cisco exclaimed when he caught onto the trick.

"Stop right there, mister!" Belén chucked a vine at him to keep him in place.

"Are you seriously vine-ing me right now!?" Cisco had his arms pressed against his sides, no way he was getting out of it until Belén decided.

"You're acting very suspicious," Belén pointed at his current situation. "It was called for." She moved up to the desk and waited for Caitlin to finish skimming whatever was on the screen, though the more she read the more confused she looked. "Cait?" Belén called after a moment. "What is it?"

"Caitlin, don't say anything," Cisco resorted to pleads with the intention of explaining to Caitlin a bit later when Belén wasn't in the room.

"Are you serious?" Caitlin, naturally, threw him a look for his request. "This is a basis for a cure."

"A cure?" Belén repeated, cocking her head to the side.

"Caitlin, _please_ ," Cisco begged again but Caitlin shook her head. She had no idea what was going on but she couldn't be a part of it.

"The gene codes are meant for a botanical metahuman," Caitlin met Belén's gaze, both sorry and still confused. "Specifically for cells that are absorbing and deteriorating..."

That made Belén stop. "Absorb energy?" Caitlin nodded silently. Belén's head snapped in Cisco's direction, making the man gulp. She was looking positively angry already. "Francisco Ramon tell me this isn't what I'm thinking?"

"Bells, I was just doing a favor..."

Belén's hands shot up, making him stop talking. "He's been waking up so early lately...all the books...the secret work..." she felt her chest losing air despite there being a limitless amount in the room.

"I don't understand what's going on," Caitlin admitted, and partly in case Belén wanted to direct some of that anger towards her too.

"I know you don't," Belén muttered. "Because you look just as lost as I am. Barry's been acting very strange ever since he got back from Earth 2 and now I'm going to figure out exactly why." She stormed out of the cortex, ignoring Cisco's calls for her to release him.

"What did you guys do?" Caitlin asked him with a heavy sigh. The last thing they needed right now was for there to be a division amongst the group.

~ 0 ~

When Belén came into the portal room, Barry was already in the middle of another heated argument with Harry over the velocity-9 he'd taken. This, however, did not matter for Belén.

"Get out!" she rudely said to Harry. She would probably end up apologizing for that one later to him when she was better. Right now, all she wanted was to get answers.

"Excuse me?" Harry found it amusing instead of offensive.

"Actually…" Belén began to think a little more, "...stay. Maybe you can tell me why my boyfriend is attempting to create a cure for the woman who wants to kill me."

Harry was nowhere near surprised. Instead, he glanced at Barry with an ' _I told you_ ' face and promptly waited to hear what Barry would come up with.

Barry was seriously kicking himself right about now. Velocity-9 was forgotten now that his furious girlfriend was waiting for him with a tapping foot. "Bells…"

"Yes, Barry?"

He winced at her sharp voice. "I can explain…"

"Great, cos I can't wait to hear it," Belén crossed her arms and leaned on one hip.

"But you're not gonna like it."

"I'm not liking things _now_."

"I told you so," Harry mumbled to Barry.

"You know," Belén pointed at him. "And so does Cisco. I just caught him doing the work for the stupid cure."

"It was my call-"

"Surprising," Belén frowned at Barry. "I don't understand because last time I heard, Datura was on a rampage to kill me. You remember that, right? She's a metahuman, with siphoning powers, and she wants to kill me."

Barry opened his mouth several times to tell her the truth but every time he did, nothing came out. It was a lot harder than he thought. And with each second he didn't talk, Belén became even more angry.

"She _kidnapped_ my family!" she started shouting. "She's hurt me so many times and you want to _help_ her!? The only help I'm gonna give her is a way into the pipeline!"

"Just say it, Allen," Harry said plainly. "Rip it off like a bandage."

"It's not that easy!" Barry managed to tell him.

"Why?" demanded Belén. "What makes this woman so special enough to have you making a cure for her? What? Does she have Poison Ivy's trick in controlling pheromones too?"

"She doesn't need that, trust me," Harry found the moment to say with a hint of a smile.

"For real?" Barry turned on him, giving him a weary expression.

Belén looked close to murdering. " _What_ does that mean?"

"Bells, look, yes, I _am_ making a cure for Datura but I have a good reason, honest," but Barry still couldn't find the words to say why.

"What is it?"

"You're not going to like it, alright? In fact, it's probably going to do you harm and that's why I didn't tell you straightaway. I was trying to think of the best way to tell you but-"

"I told you it was impossible," Harry cut him off. "There is no way anyone could take that in a good way."

"Alright, I need you to be quiet!" Barry snapped. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before he spoke to Belén again. "I met Datura on Earth 2 way before I saw Zoom. I thought...I thought she…" Barry released another breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You thought she what?" Belén asked, bordering the line of confusion there.

"Honestly? I thought she had...killed your doppelganger…" Barry watched the horror cross her face.

"Excuse me?" Belén scrunched her face. "You said you met my doppelganger. You said she was married to yours-"

"And they did! Well, they _are_...technically…"

"Barry, I'm not understanding and that's saying something because when I came here I thought I understood nothing."

"Get on with it," Harry urged Barry.

This was still the easy part to tell, Barry thought. "Before we crossed to Earth 2 my doppelganger thought your doppelganger was dead. He thought his wife was dead."

" _Thought_ …?"

"I was mad, I was...I was furious...when I read that Datura had been a suspect of that crime so naturally I sought to find Datura and demand to know why she'd hurt your doppelganger…" and this is where Barry lost his courage. Belén recognized a true terror on his face and couldn't decide what it was for. "I found something completely different. She wasn't dead. She was living, breathing, and walking..."

"...and terrorizing…" Harry mumbled under his breath.

" _Alright_ -" Barry had enough of his inputs and went to take him out when Belén called to him again, clapping her hands for their attention.

"You tell me right now what this is all about or I'm gonna poison you!"

"Bells, your doppelganger lives because she's...she's…" Barry took another pause, this time deciding he was going to force himself to say it in one go. Like a bandage. "Earth 2's Belén _is_ Datura."

It was fairly quick how Belén lost the color in her face. Her eyes nearly bulged from her head the way they widened. She was close to laughing, really, as a first response, because she thought it was a _joke_. It _had_ to be a joke. It was a cruel, sinister joke that Harry had probably thought of…

"You've got to tell me the truth right now…" she demanded again, but Barry gave her the nod that he _was_ telling the truth. She swallowed hard and stepped back. "You _are_ joking."

"Bells…"

" _No_ ," she pointed at him, warning him to get on with the actual truth. "You need to tell me right now, or…" but she trailed off when she saw the inevitable sadness in his eyes. It was the same concern he showed for _her_. It was the same _care_. "I-I'm not... _she's_ not…" her eyes flickered to Harry who, not doubt, would confirm it without hesitation.

"Yes, she is," he said. "She is and she's sick. So of course Barry here thought if he made the cure for her she would stop with all the murdering and go back to being the woman she was before."

Belén put a hand to her forehead, trying to think rationally about what she was hearing. Her doppelganger was evil? She was a murderer? Absolutely not. It couldn't be. "I-I'm not...no!" she shouted suddenly. "You're lying!"

"I wouldn't lie to you about something like this-" Barry tried to say but she cut him off.

"Who knows what you're making up instead! You just don't want to tell me!"

"Bells-"

"But Poison Ivy would tell me," she thought on her own. Her eyes flickered to the side. "If there's anyone who would love to tell me the bitter truth it's her."

"Bells, you don't have to do this," Barry walked towards her but she had already started to leave. "Belén!"

"If you stop me right now it'll be the last thing you do!" she warned him.

"Belén, c'mon, think about this! Why would I lie? I hate telling you this but it's the truth. I'm sorry!"

Belén's eyes were already shining with tears but she would not let them fall. "No, maybe you made a mistake. Maybe she just took my form." She strode into the pipeline with Barry right behind her. "She siphons powers so maybe she just siphoned a shapeshifter."

"I wish she did but she wasn't," Barry stopped her just before her hand could touch the control pad of the pods. "She was you. She was you with your...with your pretty face…"

"Don't say that," Belén shook her head.

"She has your eyes, your voice, your hair...she's _you_."

Belén couldn't look him in the eyes. It was like she felt embarrassment but how could she? _She_ hadn't done anything wrong. Her hand pressed the control, and her tissue print was confirmed.

Barry sighed as the pipeline began to open up. Poison Ivy's prison pod was brought to view and the ginger greeted them with her trademark sinister smirk.

"Trouble in paradise?" she noticed right off the bad. "You should know, I don't do couples' therapy."

Belén sniffled and glared at her. "I'm going to ask this once and you better answer." Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow, her smirk only widening. "Is she me? Is...is Datura _me_? My doppelganger?"

Poison Ivy laughed shortly and met Barry's gaze. "You finally told her? Took you long enough you coward!"

Belén put her hands together and pressed them to the bridge of her nose. "Oh my God, it's true" she said in utter horror.

"Okay, we're done!" Barry reached for the control pad but Belén pulled his hand back. "Bells!"

"What's wrong with her!?" she demanded from Poison Ivy. "Why is she the way she is? Why does she want to kill me!?"

Poison Ivy leaned forwards on the wall of her pod. "Barry here knows. After all, he _has_ come down to visit me over the past couple of weeks." At the new revelation, Belén cast Barry another irritated glance. "She's sick, haven't you heard? She's been sick for a long time now. I tried to help her but...nothing worked. And then Zoom discovered the breaches and we saw the chance. She heard of her doppelganger here and decided to test you."

"By 'test' you mean shoot me?" Belén scoffed. "She nearly killed me."

"That was the idiot of Atom Smasher. We wanted to know if you possessed abilities like her. She was mighty disappointed to see how weak you were," Poison Ivy gave her a condescending look-over. "But, since you were her doppelganger and you _did_ possess a similar base power...we thought we could use you as the cure."

"See that? I'm your crucial ingredient," Belén sarcastically told Barry. "Were you planning on drawing blood from me while I was asleep?"

"No, I wouldn't have!" barry snapped, offended she would think that of him.

"Oh, don't be too hard on him," Poison Ivy mocked them with a pout. "Datura looks exactly like you - prettier of course and with better hair - but all in all you are _identical_. I'm sure Barry couldn't stand the idea of a version of you that was dying. Isn't that right?"

Belén briefly glanced at Barry to see his reaction. Of course, it did seem to ring some truth in him. For a moment, she debated what would she have done if roles were reversed. She thought little on it because her anger was overriding it.

"Well you know what? Datura can _die_ for all I care. She hurt my family, she hurt my friends, and she's nearly killed me."

Poison Ivy growled and slammed a hand on the pod. "You won't defeat her! It's impossible!"

"Ha, watch me. Or better yet, I'll just let her decay until she dies on her own! Either way, I'll make sure to send you what's left of her so she can keep you company - dead or alive!"

Poison Ivy shouted all sorts of threats while Belén closed the pipeline down. Barry honestly didn't know if Belén had been only saying those words to get a rile out of Poison Ivy or because she actually meant them. The latter scared him.

"Belén…" he tried to reach for her but she stepped away.

She pushed her hair behind her shoulders, taking a deep breath in while the tears began to roll down her cheeks. "She's _me_! She's actually _me_!"

"I'm so sorry," Barry couldn't find more words to say at the moment.

"Did she hurt him?" she asked in-between her sniffles. "Did she hurt Barry from Earth 2?"

"No, she couldn't," Barry reassured fast, for her sake. "Actually, if anything, I think he gave her some of her humanity back. They hadn't seen each other in about a year or so."

"What happened to him?"

"He's...in hiding…"

Belén released a noise of a looming sob.

"Not because she was going to hurt him!" Barry quickly added. "She told him to go into hiding because of Zoom. Belén, whatever world, whoever we are, it doesn't change between us. They still loved each other. Her name? Datura? _He_ gave her the flower she now wears. The name is from him."

"But she's still a _murderer_! She's hurt people! She - she terrorized Jesse!" Belén was now beginning to understand the odd stares Jesse would give her often. "No wonder she looked afraid of me! I wear the same face of the woman who used to terrorize her!"

"Okay, but she gets that it's not you! You're a whole other person, Belén!"

"Yeah?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "If I'm a whole other person then why are you making a cure for her? She's someone else, isn't she?"

"Don't do that, please. I saw her in her weakest moments. She's - she's sick, and she needs help. Belén, that's another version of you and I can't just sit here knowing that she's going to die-"

"Well I say let her!" Belén shouted.

"But Bel-"

"-my doppelganger, my call!" she snapped, just as loud as if she were still shouting. "Let her die and pay for what she's done!"

"You don't mean that, you're mad - and with great reason - but you would never let anyone die if you could help them."

But right now, Belén wasn't sure what she was going to do with Datura. "We'll find out, won't we?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Been waiting a while for this reveal! So excited to keep showing what's coming!

 **P. S:** I created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	22. The Unifier

Belén sat cross legged in her sanctuary within STAR Labs. Her eyes were closed and focused on only one thing. Little by little, vines started wrapping around her body until she disappeared into nothing. The next time Belén opened her eyes, she saw the familiar forest of the Green.

She stood up for the mushy grass and scanned the area for any company. When she felt truly alone, she screamed into the sky. "YOU KNEW IT WAS HER!" Her face scrunched with raw fury, fury she hadn't been able to expel completely. "YOU KNEW WHO SHE WAS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!" Tears rolled down her eyes, out of frustration and despondence. "ANSWER ME!"

There was a few seconds in silence before she heard the calm voice of the Green. " _You know that I do not expose any metahuman from the Green."_

"But she's a murderer who's not even allowed in here!"

" _"I never disclose the identities of my metahumans, I have told you that before,"_ the Green said, but Belén scoffed loudly. " _It does not matter if she is not allowed in here, I have a duty to keep everyone's identities a secret._ "

Belén's entire body shook with fury. "SHE IS TRYING TO KILL ME!" she screamed into the air, almost letting herself cry in the end. _Why_ did she have to keep repeating that to everybody? Datura was coming after her no matter what and yet everyone seemed to forget that small detail.

 _"She will not."_

A sour laugh left Belén's lips. "Why? Because _you_ said so? See, I don't really know if you're on my side anymore because...because you are supposed to be looking out for-" she raised her hands to do air quotations, "-'your metahumans' and yet I have had my ass handed to me so many times I've lost count. Why aren't you helping me? Why are you letting Datura hurt me?"

 _"I am your guardian, not your babysitter,_ " the Green clarified its role. " _And as your guardian, I allow you to draw power to fight. **I** do not fight for you._"

"So I'm just supposed to die, then?"

 _"No, you will fight because it is what you do. You did not need to know Datura's true identity because in the end, you will be victorious."_

"She's _me_ ," Belén's hands shook as she gestured to herself. "Datura is _me_. She wears my face while she murders people."

" _If you had known Datura's real identity, you would have faltered from the beginning and you would not have been able to apprehend Poison Ivy. You wouldn't have met Black Orchid and you would not have me. The sequence of events had to happen this way, for your benefit._ "

"For _my_ ben..." Belén passed a hand through her hair, once again laughing sourly, "For my benefit? Are you kidding me?"

 _"Would you have preferred to do it the other way?"_

Belén's silence was answer enough, but she wasn't in the mood to be wrong. "It doesn't matter! What matters is that this woman is me and now my boyfriend - my friends - are trying to help her, to cure her!"

 _"Datura **is** sick-"_

"-bullshit!" Belén screamed. "That woman is pure evil and I will _not_ excuse her for some fake illness!"

 _"Belén, I truly understand your anger."_

"Do you really?" Belén folded her arms. "Because now I don't know if my friends, if Barry, are looking at _me_ or... _her_."

 _"Belén, you and I have only spoken for a few weeks, but I have been watching you for 2 years now. I have seen your life through your eyes, and I know that you know where your friends' loyalties lie. You are afraid."_

"I am," Belén whispered.

 _"But not just of Datura anymore..."_

"Yeah..." Belén's eyes shined with new tears.

 _"What are you afraid of, Belén?"_

"I'm...I'm afraid of..." Belén's breath shook, "I'm afraid that my friends will get hurt because of who Datura is. Because-be...because if she wears my face, she has an advantage. She already has Barry working for her without her even being on this Earth. She could use her face..." Belén's eyes closed for a moment, "...she could use _our_ face to trick Barry and my friends. They could never hurt me, and Datura knows that. Plus, Datura being me means that she knows everything about me. She knows all of my weaknesses, maybe even weaknesses that I don't know about yet, and she knows my moves. How do I fight someone who knows literally everything about me?"

" _Consider this new perspective: **you** know everything about **her**. You know **her** strengths and weaknesses."_

"Do I, though?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "Because up until now I haven't really been able to win against her."

 _"Belén, do not belittle your triumphs. You've done well, and now that you've gained new knowledge, you will do better."_

"But I don't _know_ what I'm supposed to do! She's dying, so the rumors say, so what am I supposed to do? Wait it out until she drops dead on her own? Or end her myself?"

 _"Have you considered the fact there is a third option you are not looking at?"_

Belén looked to the side.

" _Would you really kill someone, Belén_?"

"...there's always a first time," Belén mumbled, but her gaze suddenly found the ground so interesting. She had basically told Poison Ivy that she would let Datura die as well. Could she mean it?

" _You're right, but I will remind you of what the future holds for you and your doppelganger. I know how the fight ends and the sacrifices you will both make. Your lives are interwined for the long run."_

"Yeah, well, I don't really believe in predictions," Belén balled her fists on the side, letting the vines start creeping around her skin. "And maybe this time, the Azalea will fall into her dark side." The vines were wrapping around her shoulders, then her neck, until thinner vines reached her face. "An Azalea inside a black vase is known as a death threat, after all."

~ 0 ~

"As soon as she could, Caitlin had sat both Barry and Cisco down in the cortex so they could explain to her how on Earth Datura was Belén. Of course once she did, both Harry and Jesse trickled into the room. Jesse did it to try and help but her father wanted to comment where he thought necessary.

"How could you not tell any of us that Datura is Belén's doppelganger?" Caitlin thought that at least Barry and Cosco had the decency to look guilty. Both their heads were bowed in guilt. "That was something Belén should've known the moment you came back from Earth 2."

"It wasn't something I could tell her easily, alright?" Barry looked up at Caitlin. At least that way she could know that he was sorry but it wasn't like he planned on things going this way. "How was I supposed to do that?"

Caitlin seemed to relax a bit, but only by a bit. "You should've instead of trying to form some cure behind her back. I think that's what hurt Belén the most."

"Well, I think Allen was hoping to save both of them because he still believes Datura can be saved," Harry remarked from the side. "Stupid, really."

"Dad," Jesse scolded but it wasn't like it would do anything. Absolutely nothing kept her dad quiet.

"And I just helped because it sounded like a good idea," Cisco finally spoke up when he felt the heat wasn't so much on him anymore. "I mean, cure Datura and maybe we can get her off our backs."

"Except that's not what's going to happen," Harry practically snapped. "Because she can't be saved. She's not Belén. Datura doesn't care about anything."

"Well that's not entirely true…" Jesse said, sounding reluctant due to the glare her father was fixating on her. "I've spent a lot of time with her, Dad," she reminded him. "If I had to say, Datura only cares about 2 people in the entire world...worlds. Poison Ivy and...her husband."

Caitlin's expression softened as she looked at Barry. His head hung low once again. "I know you didn't mean to hurt Belén, Barry, but…"

"I did things wrong, I know," he said with a deep sigh. He regretted his choices, he did, but he also knew that even if he'd told Belén earlier it wouldn't have mattered. She would've still been angry at the situation and she would've never accepted creating a cure. He would have always had to figure out a way to present the cure in a more persuasive manner.

Right now all he wanted was to talk to Belén and be good with her, but she wouldn't even look at him. She refused to, actually.

"So where do we stand, then?" Caitlin asked suddenly, bringing Barry's attention back to the present. She had folded her arms, her face no longer bearing anger but instead hesitation. "Are we...going to make the cure?"

"No, of course not!" Harry shouted within the second. His eyes seemed to be warning them all not to go further. "It's a stupid idea, not to mention a waste of time!"

"But is it though?" Cisco suddenly asked, the fact that _he_ had asked the question made him pause for a moment.

Caitlin raised an eyebrow at him, her arms still folded over her chest. Her expression was startled but she hadn't yet sided with a party. " _You_ think we should cure Datura? If we even _can_ , by the way."

"I don't know," Cisco admitted. "On the one hand, if we do cure her...think about what could happen? What if she goes back to being herself?"

"There _is_ no other her!" Harry insisted but now Barry had gotten out of his chair to argue.

"Yes there was," he frowned. "She had a life before your Particle Accelerator went off. She was married, she had a job, she had a family. She had everything my Belén has right now."

"I just gave them powers," Harry marched over to Barry till they were face to face, the former straight while the latter glaring. "I didn't make them into monsters."

"Except in Datura's case you did," Barry snapped. "Because you gave her an unstable power from the start. Everything she touches she kills, whether she wants to or not. She accidentally killed someone and _that's_ what drove her away from everybody she loved. _You_ -" Barry punctured Harry's chest with his finger, "-did that." Harry's jaw clenched and it looked like he wanted to say a lot of things.

"Dad," Jesse called again, more nervous than before. She knew her father had a temper but lately it seemed to be more of a darkness that genuinely scared her. "Maybe Barry's right, maybe we can help Datura." She suddenly had everyone giving her the same puzzled look.

" _You_ want to save her?" Cisco pointed a finger at her. "Two days ago you didn't want Bells touching you."

"I know, and I'm gonna apologize to her later," Jesse said, sounding like she already had a plan in mind. "I just think maybe saving Datura is the only way to save _us_. Call it selfish, if you'd like, but wouldn't it be a thousand times better to have the Siphoner on _our_ side?"

Harry rubbed his face as he walked away from the group. "No, no, no, no!" He whirled around, shouting, " _No_! Because Datura can't be saved!"

"Who says?" challenged Barry. "I'm with Jesse-"

Harry scoffed. "-of course you are."

"It would be a lot better to have Datura on our side than to constantly have to watch our backs from her."

A sour smile spread across Harry's face. He shook his head. "You just see Belén, not the doppelganger. And that's gonna get you killed because while you-" he pointed at Barry, "-won't hurt her, she'll kill you without a second thought. She works for Zoom. You remember him, right? Almost killed you too? She'll gladly turn you over to him. No amount of medicine is gonna make her stop hating you and Belén and the rest of us." He stormed out of the cortex, leaving that parting wisdom behind.

There was a terse atmosphere left behind, one that brought along silence.

Caitlin felt like the odd woman out because she still couldn't make up her mind of where she stood. "Jesse," she called softly, "You would really want to save Datura?"

Jesse made a gesture with her hands that she didn't exactly know herself. "I mean, maybe I _am_ thinking about it selfishly because I _know_ that Datura is a _very_ powerful metahuman...to have her on our side...it would guarantee a win against Zoom. And as afraid as I am of Datura, I'm more afraid of Zoom."

Caitlin nodded then turned to Barry. "So, where do we go from here?"

Barry's shoulders shrugged before he could form a verbal response. "First I need to get Belén to talk to me. That's all I care about right now, to be honest."

"So do you want me to stop what I was working on?" Cisco asked.

Barry didn't know what they were going to do for the moment, but he knew that whatever they chose they needed Belén's 'okay' first. She was the one who would decide what she wanted to do with Datura.

~ 0 ~

Iris helplessly watched Belén tear up papers at her desk. No matter how many times Iris begged her to stop, Belén would keep going. In fact, it almost seemed like Belén was tearing faster.

"Belén, c'mon! That's your work!" Iris whisper-hissed as much as she could considering they were in the workplace. "Not to mention it's the one article you were so passionate about yesterday."

Belén only paused to glare up at her concerned friend. "You said it, 'yesterday'. Today's a brand new day and I'm angry as hell - _no_ ," she raised a finger, "I'm _furious_."

"Yeah, I know, at Barry but why does your work have to suffer?" Iris tried snatching the remaining papers from Belén's hand but she spun her chair away. "Belén! Give me that!"

"No!"

Iris groaned.

Shivhan walked into CC Pictures and caught the last few seconds of Belén's and Iris' spectacle. "I always feel like I walk into things halfway..." At her voice, both Belén and Iris looked over their shoulders. Shivhan sarcastically wiggled her fingers at them. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Iris asked just before she discreetly made a move to snatch the papers from Belén's hands. Belén, however, moved her hands away, leaving Iris to wear a tight smile.

Shivhan raised an eyebrow at the two. "What is going on?"

"What are you doing here?" Iris asked again, sighing.

"Belén told me to come yesterday," Shivhan gestured to the ombre-blonde. "Some new article she wanted me to be interviewed for."

"Ah," Iris clapped her hands together and turned to Belén, "See that? Your work, Belén. It's still going!"

"No, I'm done with the article. There's no point." Belén tore the last of her papers and allowed them to sprinkle over her lap like confetti. She then got up from her chair and smiled widely. "I'm going to get some coffee. Possibly spiked."

"Okay, what is her deal?" Shivhan asked as soon as Belén stalked off. "She was so excited over the stupid article yesterday."

"You haven't heard?" Iris raised an eyebrow at her, her incredulous expression alerting Shivhan that she'd missed something big.

"What happened?"

Iris' eyes did a quick scan of the room before whispering, "We know who Datura is. Her real identity."

" _No_!" Shivhan's eyes widened in delight. "Oh this I gotta know. I want to know whose ass we're going to kick."

"Yeah, that's going to be a bit harder..."

"Why?"

"Because Datura is Belén's doppelganger on Earth 2."

Shivhan's delight dropped in an instant. "Excuse me? What...what do you mean?"

"What you heard..."

Shivhan brought a hand to her dark hair. "So all this time...she's been..." Iris nodded her head. "You know what, that actually makes sense. Datura's always been a step ahead of us. Whenever she and Belén would fight, Datura would be equal. I can't believe we didn't see it sooner."

"Well, Belén, as you can imagine-" Iris turned in the direction of Belén at the refreshment table, "-is not taking it well. She's even more pissed that Barry knew and didn't say anything-"

"-oh, no he didn't," Shivhan scrunched her face, already imagining how that argument must have unfolded.

"And that he was trying to make a cure for Datura."

" _No_!" Shivhan exclaimed a bit too loud that she got some concerned looks from the other employees. "What?" she hissed at them and suddenly everyone went back to work. She shook her head. "Oh Barry, he really is incredibly intelligent and yet so... _stupid_." Iris bobbed her head, unable to disagree. "And now Belén is refusing to go ahead with her article about the Green and botanical metas?"

"Yup," Iris popped the 'p' of her word.

Shivhan laughed sarcastically. "I don't think so. Has she taken her lunch yet?"

"Uh, no, why-"

Shivhan had already taken off in Belén's direction. Iris looked around nervously before rushing after her.

"Belén, you need to stop!" Shivhan spun the ombre-blonde around.

"What!? Leave me alone!" Belén tried wrestling free from Shivhan's arm but the latter had a good grip. "Shivhan!"

Shivhan was already dragging Belén out of the building and into the street. "You are not letting that article go!"

"It's too late! I already ripped it up!"

"Oh please, you have it on your computer-"

"-not anymore!" Belén snapped and pushed Shivhan away. "I deleted it! It's gone!"

"Belén..." Iris blinked, truly stunned to hear about such a rash decision. "That was such a good article. Why would you do that?"

"Why do you think?" Belén's snaps seemed to get harsher each time. "How could I write an article about helping botanical metas keep safe against Datura when she's _me_!?" she sourly laughed but there were fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "How could I tell those metas that the Azalea can help them out when it's her evil twin that they're up against? That's beyond hypocritical, don't you think?"

"Oh my God," Shivhan groaned. "You are not going to blame yourself for what another version of you does!"

"I'm not blaming myself, I'm being conscious. I'm being careful. I mean, maybe you guys should just kick me out of STAR Labs already."

"Why would we ever do that?"

"Because if Datura can go down _that_ path...who's to say that _I_ won't do the same?" Belén took in a sharp breath and when she exhaled, it was shaky. She wanted to cry just like she'd done countless times before.

"Is that what you think?" Iris whispered, her heart almost breaking when she realized that beyond all the anger, Belén was scared.

"She did it," Belén gestured at nothing in particular. "She had everything like me, and she turned into a monster. She had her Barry-" she shook her hands, "-and she gave him up just like that! Nothing mattered in the end because the darkness was already inside her."

"Belén, that is never going to happen to you," Iris said, unable to believe that she truly had to explain this to Belén. "Because you are not like her."

"We're the same person, Iris."

"So? You each have your different personalities. Okay, maybe you're right and Datura did already have the darkness inside of her...but _you_ don't. You're incapable of being _that_ type of woman. You're the Azalea, for God's sake."

"Plus, Datura's been a divider her whole life," Shivhan chimed in. "She doesn't work as a team. Poison Ivy always had to reel back but Datura couldn't do it on her own. You're the opposite. You've united so many of us into your team. You're the reason _I'm_ here."

"And the reason I'm here too," Iris agreed. "And I have no doubt that you're going to keep bringing more of us into your team."

Belén's lips curled into a small smile. "You guys..."

"Seriously girl, you can't do this. If anything, you should write that article because you literally know everything about Datura now," Shivhan shrugged. "You're definitely the right leader for the botanical metas in this city."

"So c'mon, let's re-write that article," Iris stepped towards Belén and took one of her hands. "And maybe we could even try to squeeze in some Jitters?"

Belén chuckled and wiped some tears off her face. "Yeah. That'd be nice."

~ 0 ~

Jitters turned out to be the best place to rewrite an entire article. Belén absolutely hated herself for ever getting rid of her first copy, but at least she and the girls were making progress.

"You really want _my_ opinion on it, though?" Shivhan asked while she munched on a lemon muffin. She flatout ignored Iris' glare for letting the muffin crumbs fall over her papers. "I mean, I'm no Green..."

"You are Black Orchid," Belén whispered from across the table. "I need as many reliable sources I can get for this to be credible. I feel like I'm cheating for adding my own testimony - the Azalea - but I don't know a lot more botanical metas. I'm thinking of adding Rose Red and Swamp Thing too."

"Ha," Shivhan laughed, letting more crumbs fall. Iris made a noise as she wiped them off her papers, but Shivhan never noticed. "Swamp Thing as a reliable source. That dude's so weird."

"I think it's a good idea to get them involved," Iris said, "Especially if they're the ones who helped you."

Belén nodded. She continued to make more notes on the questions she would ask Swamp Thing and Rose Red. She only stopped when Iris dramatically cleared her throat to get her attention. When Belén looked up, Iris was nodding at something behind her. Belén expected it to be Barry who, up until now hadn't stopped calling her for what promised to be interesting apologies, but instead of finding the speedster she found Jesse. The girl was nervously coming up to their table.

"Hey..." she stopped beside the table and made a weak wave of her hand. "Caitlin said I might find you guys here."

"You were looking for us?" Belén raised an eyebrow.

"Since when?" Shivhan blurted and instantly had an elbow stabbing her side. She shot Iris a glare but Iris was giving her ' _stop talking_ ' look.

"I wanted to talk to you Belén...if I could?" Jesse asked, her fingers fiddling with each other.

Belén blinked in surprise. She looked at the others just to confirm that she had heard right. "Why...?"

"It's about Datura, and...me."

"Why don't we go get another round of coffee?" Iris asked Shivhan, intending on giving Belén and Jesse the moment they needed.

"Why?" Shivhan cluelessly asked. She had just taken her last bite of her lemon muffin.

Iris rolled her eyes and yanked Shivhan out of her seat. "I'll buy you another lemon muffin since you seem to love stuffing yourself with them!"

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it," Shivhan said as they headed for the counter.

Jesse took Iris' seat and offered Belén an apologetic smile. "I-I know you must so upset about what you learned..." Belén didn't outright say 'of course' but her expression did say something akin to it. "You should know that Barry really feels about it. I think he was just trying to do what he thought was best. I mean, how _does_ somebody explain that?"

Belén sighed as she put her pen down on the table. "Barry made a mistake and I am rightly upset about it. And honestly, I don't get why you're here trying to defend him. Aren't you like dead afraid of me or something?" She didn't meant to be rude but there were too many feelings that she couldn't push away. Jesse had ignored her and ran out on her so many times, each time confusing the hell out of Belén.

Jesse, however, took the jab with a guilty nod. "I'm sorry about that. I just spent so much time with Datura that I-I had trouble adjusting to this world...to _you_." Belén pursed her lips together, obviously unliking the fact she'd been seen as her doppelganger. "Datura scares me, she made my life even more miserable while I was imprisoned. She's crazy."

"Yeah, I know," Belén nodded. "But I'm _not_."

"I know but...I just needed some time. I realize that you are _nothing_ like her. You're better than her." Jesse didn't know why it took her so long to figure that out. She'd seen from the moment she arrived to this Earth how this Belén was. She was so kind, perhaps a bit too kind, to everyone. She was always cheery even when she had to deal with all this metahuman crap. She spoke Italian and a touch of Spanish which she liked to use on Cisco because he loved to imitate her, something that clearly annoyed Belén. But even as she was annoyed, she still laughed in the end. And she rambled a lot sometimes. She once rambled on about one of her recent articles for a full five minutes and the only reason she had stopped was because Barry had to physically shake her a bit, otherwise she would have passed out from lack of air.

But Jesse had to been too terrified in those early days. She constantly remembered the maniacal laughter from Datura. Dautra would often scare her with those, especially when she had one of her victims' voices overlapping with hers. Datura had a darkness that would scare anyone to the bone.

And Belén couldn't own that darkness, even if she tried.

"Clearly not in the intellectual department, though. Otherwise I would have figured out who she was," Belén bitterly said as she leaned forwards on the table. "And I should have realized that Barry was keeping that secret from me. But as usual, I'm just stupid."

"No!" Jessie exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. "Oh God no! You are _so_ smart! You're not a scientist but you are so smart about other things. I've read your articles and nobody tells metahuman stories like you. Plus, you know your stuff about botanical metahumans, about Botany."

"That's only because I started to read about it in my mediation room," Belén said quietly.

"Isn't that how we all learn?" Jesse smiled at her. "Look, my point here is that I should have never treated you as if you were Datura. I'm sorry about that, but I'm here to leave things clear. I like you Belén and I would really like to start over with you. Maybe we can be friends."

Belén cocked her head to the side. "And you wouldn't see me as Datura anymore?"

"God no," Jessie shook her head. "Anybody can make that distinction...definitely Barry." She added the last bit when she saw Belén getting a bit distant on her. She had no doubt that this precise thought was the one that troubled Belén the most.

Belén sighed and brought a hand to go through her ombre tips. "I don't know what to think about Barry right now. But I do appreciate your apology. I think I could have been a little more understanding to your situation. I'm sorry for what you had to go through, for what my... _doppelganger_ put you through. I promise you that I _will_ put a stop her terror of reign. I don't know how but I will. She won't hurt you again."

Jessie nodded. "I believe in the Azalea. She'll keep us safe." A soft smile came to Belén's face. "I'll see you back at STAR Labs, okay? But I really think you should talk to Barry. Another difference between you and Datura is that _you_ care for Barry. Datura can claim all she wants about how she ran away to keep her husband safe but if she had truly loved him, she would have never become what she is. You don't run away, you work _with_ him. You guys should be the ones married, not them."

Belén was left with a deep blush on her face. She quickly tucked some hair behind her ear and averted looking anywhere that wasn't the table. When Jesse left and Iris and Shivhan returned, Belén was still thinking about what Jesse said.

"You okay, Bells?" Iris asked. She hoped that whatever Jesse had said didn't set Belén off again.

But Belén started putting her things away, not saying anything at first.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Shivhan stopped Belén from closing her laptop. "I am _not_ redoing another interview."

Belén smiled lightly. "I'm just done for today. I...think I need to go see Barry. Is it okay if we end things here?"

"Of course! Go! Go!" Iris was quick to say. She didn't want Belén changing her mind if she stayed any longer. "Go!"

"Thanks," Belén closed her laptop and slipped it into her bag. "See you later!" she hopped of her stool and hurried out of the building.

~ 0 ~

Belén waited until she was home before she texted Barry. Plus, she wanted to think about everything she would say to Barry once they were together. She suspected, though, that her words might get jumbled up once she actually tried to say them out loud. Still, when she felt brave enough, she texted Barry asking if they could talk at her place.

Barry was knocking on the apartment door not ten seconds later. He would barge in when she was angry with him, so he waited for her to open the door.

"Hey," she let him in.

Barry walked it into the living room and turned back as Belén closed the door. When he could see her much more calmed face, he felt a bit more hopeful that they would be able to talk civilized. "Belén, I really am sorry for keeping it all secret. I didn't know how to put it and...I didn't know how you would react."

"So you thought making a secret cure behind my back was the best way to go around it?" it still brought new layers of anger when she thought about the countless times she'd caught him working in late at night, middle of the night and way early in the morning. It was all for _her_.

"No, of course not. I couldn't help it. I learned Datura was sick and-"

"-she has always been sick!" snapped Belén. "And just because she wears my face doesn't mean she gets a free pass."

"I know, but-"

"-she hurt me, Barry. She hurt _you_ and my _family_. How could you think of making her a cure when she doesn't deserve it?"

"So you would really let her die?" Barry gazed at her with what Belén would describe as _disappointment_.

It angered her all over again. "How could you give me _that_ look!? _She's_ the villain, not me! I have worked my ass off to be the best hero I could be and now you want me to feel _sorry_ for a doppelganger who has hurt dozens of people? Someone who's killed more people than I can count!? Someone..." her voice involuntarily broke, but she gathered her words as fast as she could to keep going, "Someone who willingly left her husband? She abandoned her husband and her family. She came to hurt _me_ and I will _not-"_ she gritted her teeth, "-allow her to play the sick card on me. I will not let her manipulate you into saving her."

"But she's not doing anything," Barry kept his voice calm because the moment he started yelling too, the argument would be pointless. He walked over to her and despite her turning her head away from him, he kept explaining. "I know that she's evil, I know that she's hurt people, but maybe we can still save her. We can give her back the humanity she lost."

Belén licked her lips as a humorless laugh came out of her mouth. "You see her as _me_. You think she's _me_ and she's not." Her eyes, that were now watery, flickered to him. "She's not me, Barry. _I_ am _me_." Her hand shook as she pointed at herself. "Me! _I'm_ here! I'm here right now and you're not looking at me! You're looking at _her!"_

Barry got so confused for a moment while she went on about her being her. Of course he knew who was who, and he would never trade. Was that shy she was so angry with him? Because she thought he had feelings for the doppelganger too?

"Bells-" he tried to say, even attempting to stop her hand from continuously gesturing to herself.

"You keep thinking about her and I'm scared that if you keep doing it you might prefer her instead! I'm here, Barry! Don't you see me!?"

Barry seized her face with his hands, pulling her close to him so that there was only a few inches between them. He looked at her teary face and smiled softly at her. "I always see _you_. You're my Bells. You're my Azalea."

"I'm not a crazy, jealous girlfriend I swear," Belén sniffed. The whole situation was beyond weird. She didn't know _how_ to react to learning Datura was her. She was afraid of what that meant for herself and for everyone else, but she was terrified of what it meant for Barry - what it could mean.

"No, of course not," Barry agreed with her. Belén was never that type of jealous. He understood that she had to be overwhelmed. He expected some of this and he just wished he could've made it easier on her. "And I should've been more understanding. I'm really sorry, Bells. But you should know that I have always seen you. Just you." His fingers traced gentle circles over her cheeks, wiping off some of the tears rolling down. He leaned closer to kiss her but hesitated for a moment thinking she might push him away.

Belén's hand found a fistful of Barry's shirt and pulled him onto her lips. They shared a soft kiss to seal their words. It was always them, just them. Belén knew there shouldn't be any doubts but given Datura's track record, it was justified for her to be a smidge worried. But Barry didn't care. He would kiss her until he ran out of air if he could. Each time they argued, he was always a bit worried that he wouldn't ever get to kiss her again. Sometimes when their arguments stemmed from their metahuman side, there was always more tension and it was more challenging to fix it. He loved Belén. He didn't ever want to lose her. He slid his hands down to her waist to hold her tightly. Their kissing became harder and rougher, bringing out several moans from both of them.

Belén's let go of Barry's shirt but it worked to find any button she could undo. When Barry understood, he pulled away to make sure they were truly on the same page. She didn't bother giving him the actual 'yes' and instead fervently undid the rest of his shirt's buttons. At the same time, Barry pulled her against him. He let his hands roam her body while she pushed off his shirt. By the time his hands found the hemline of her blouse, he shirt was on the floor and Belén was making him walk backwards into the hallway.

Eventually, Barry finished the job for her and sped them into her bedroom. Soon as they were inside, he pulled her blouse off her. It'd got on his last nerve that he hadn't been able to do that as quickly as he wanted to. He slipped his arms around her bare back and laid her on the bed. She watched him crawl over him with a roguish smile promising good things to come. Barry practically dove his mouth to capture hers again.

~ 0 ~

"You went to go talk to Belén?" Caitlin didn't exactly hide her surprise very well, but Jesse understood it wasn't something to believe so quickly given the situation.

"Yeah, I thought she deserved an apology from my side," Jessie moved around the cortex. She did feel like a layer of guilt had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Well that was stupid," her father, however, didn't share the same feeling. "You didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to," Jessie shrugged.

"How can you be related?" Cisco pointed between her and Harry, truly looking confused on the subject of their relation. "I mean...are you sure that he's your Dad?" Jessie laughed but Harry sent a deep glare at Cisco.

Suddenly, sparks erupted from the ceiling as Eliza sped around the cortex and out. Harry had barely whipped out a gun from his table when Eliza snatched it from him and used it to direct at him. "I wouldn't move." She craned her head to find Caitlin standing very stiffly by the desk. "Where's the V-9, Caity? I need a fix."

Caitlin squinted her eyes at the red-suited woman. Despite her wearing the mask, Caitlin was sure she was seeing the eyes of her friend, not to mention the voice wasn't at all modulated. " _Eliza_? Is that really you?"

"Didn't you interview her!?" Cisco exclaimed.

Eliza tilted her head, her face was adorned with a crazed smile. "Oh, Eliza's not here right now. My name is Trajectory."

"Oh, why do the crazy ones always name themselves!?" Cisco, exasperated, folded his arms over his chest.

"Look, Eliza, Velocity-9 is very dangerous, okay?" Caitlin tried moving forwards but Eliza re-directed the gun at her, freezing her in her spot. It made a friend of mine very sick, and he already had the speed force in him. Look, your cellular system…"

Eliza growled with impatience. "Enough! You are boring me to death. Hand over the V."

Cisco carefully watched while Eliza went back and forth with Caitlin over the Velocity-9. He just needed to get closer to the computers to contact Barry and Belén.

"I'm a physician," Caitlin put her hands on her chest, frustrated that Eliza wasn't listening to her. "I took an oath. I can't give you anything that will hurt you-"

Eliza rolled her eyes and moved the gun on Cisco, freezing him right on the spot. "Right, so either hand over the v, or the cat guy gets it." And just to show that she wasn't kidding, she fired the gun. Cisco screamed ducked the only way he could and grabbed hold of the Jay's helmet display to hug for dear life. Of course the moment he touched it, he got another 'vibe'. Blue flashed everywhere and suddenly he was seeing Zoom again.

"Move, now!" Eliza shouted at them.

"Look, all the flasks are gone. There's nothing left," Caitlin tried to show that to Eliza but the woman wouldn't listen.

"Hey-" Eliza sighed, "I was really hoping you wouldn't make me do one of those 'I have to kill you each one by one until you give me what I want'. Oh, well," she sped around the room and grabbed Jesse by the neck to hold the gun at her.

Harry panicked. "Wait! Wait! You want V-9? We'll make it for you!"

Jesse was horrified already but the fact her Dad was offering up a speed drug to the dangerous woman was another thing. He couldn't do this so easily, could he? "Dad, you can't!"

Caitlin could see that Harry was going to go through with it no matter what - it was his daughter after all. And it wasn't like they would just let Jessie die. They would have to do it. "We have all the ingredients…" she added weakly.

Eliza swayed her head, seeing no options but the one presented to her. "I'm not a patient person, so better move fast!"

She kept everyone on edge while she waited for the Velocity 9 to be made. Caitlin and Harry had never worked so fast in their lives, and eventually they returned with a couple of the vials with new, fresh red liquid inside.

"It's what you wanted. Now let her go," Harry was holding out the tray with the vials.

Eliza reached for one vial but still kept a good hold on Jesse. "How do I know the two of you didn't lace this with a sedative to put me on my ass?"

Harry had a face of 'are you serious' on. It was his daughter's life on the line and she thought he would gamble with it? She had to be kidding. "We wouldn't do that."

"You can never be too safe, right?" Eliza smirked and injected the velocity-9 into Jesse faster than anyone could have foreseen.

Jesse cried and fell to her knees, her hands over the injected part of her neck. Eliza watched her intently for any side affects. When she deemed it safe, she smirked she turned to Caitlin. "Thanks for the fix, Snow." She sped off with the vials in her possession.

Jesse had a few minutes before she succumbed to the effects of velocity-9. She collapsed on the ground and began to convulse.

"Turn her on her side!" Caitlin instructed Harry and Cisco. Foam was spilling from her mouth as her body violently shook. "She's going into shock. It's too pure! We've got to get the V-9 out of her system. She needs a blood transfusion. The new blood will flush the drug out of her system!"

"What blood type is she?" Cisco inquired from Harry so he could get things ready.

"PZ negative," Harry was already taking off his jacket, missing the curious looks from the rest.

"Yeah, that's not a thing on this Earth, man," Cisco shook his head.

"I'm a match," Harry muttered and instigated for things to get moving.

~ 0 ~

Belén smiled at the kisses pressed to the right side of her neck. "If arguments always ended like this...maybe I wouldn't mind them."

Barry stopped kissing her neck to give her a sharp look. "Yeah, well, they don't always end like this. We just got lucky."

" _Really_ ," Belén smirked and shifted on the bed to face him. Things were _far_ more relaxed between them but apart from everything else, they were back on the same page in regards to each other.

"We still need to actually talk about what you plan to do with Datura," Barry said, though he'd been a bit hesitant to even use the doppelganger's name when they were so good right now.

"Mm," Belén didn't want to talk about that woman at all. Just thinking about her made her blood pressure rise. "I hate her. I love you and I don't want to argue about her. It's probably what she wants. She was stupid and let her Barry go now she wants me to lose you too."

Barry didn't know if that was the actual plan Datura had, but it nearly worked. He lowered his head to give Belén a gentle kiss. "You won't lose me. I'm _here_ and I will always be here."

Belén looped an arm around his neck, keeping him close. "I...don't know what I want to do about her," she confessed. When all the anger was pushed to the side and she thought about it, she realized she didn't know what she wanted to do with Datura. Would she cure her? Would she throw her in jail? Belén couldn't decide.

"That's fair. It's okay," Barry nodded. "We can think about but _you_ will make the choice."

"Will you stop researching for a cure?"

"Yes." Barry had no doubt in his decision. He'd been initially blinding by Datura's face and he couldn't let that happen. Harry had been right about that: if he continued to see Datura as Belén then it would get him killed. Worse, it could get somebody else killed.

Belén half-smiled at him. She raised her head off her pillow the necessary amount to kiss him. "I love you," she whispered. She let her head rest on her chest afterwards and moved her arm over his waist. She felt Barry move his arms to hold her as well. As much as Belén hated it, she started wondering how Datura felt when she realized she gave up all of _this_ \- that she'd been forced to give up. And then Belén thought of herself, if she'd been in the same situation...could have left Barry and her family too? And if she had, would she have gone the same road as Datura?

~ 0 ~

When they could, Caitlin and Cisco made the call to Belén and Barry to tell them what occurred with Eliza. The two metas quickly rushed over to find the cortex in a mess. They saw Jesse resting in one of the side rooms and learned that she'd been injected with Velocity.

"Caitlin, I know she was your friend and all, but homegirl has gone cuckoo bird," Cisco made a motion of a finger going in a circle beside his ear.

"What she doesn't know is, I put in micro tracker in the drug." Caitlin smiled to herself, proud of her idea, and walked to the desks. She would never let somebody like that go out into the world without a means to stop her.

Cisco rubbed his hands together and followed her. "You can run, but you can't hide."

"I don't think she was planning on _hiding_ ," Belén gave a light shake of her head. "If Eliza's not thinking straight, she'll definitely be out in the streets."

Caitlin and Cisco worked together to find Eliza with the tracker Caitlin placed on her. It only took a couple of minutes to discover she was at the local city bridge.

"Why...is she going back and forth?" Barry asked once he and the others had gathered around the desk. Eliza's little location dot was signaling she was going back and forth without break.

"Villains gonna vill," Cisco said a joke.

"I thought it was 'villains gonna _chill_ '," Belén managed to joke back for the first time.

" _No_!" Harry snapped as he came out of Jesse's room. "If she's doing that on a bridge, she's creating friction and at that vibration and speed..."

"It's complete chaos - she could destroy the whole bridge!" Barry blinked when he realized the ending.

"How many people transit on that bridge?" Belén looked at Caitlin and Cisco, horrified just thinking about what those people might be feeling right now with the crazy speedster on the loose. When they didn't answer, Belén moved towards her suit. "Forget it! Get Shivhan! Barry!"

"On it!" Barry zipped towards her and disappeared from the building with her.

~ 0 ~

Central City bridge was in mass hysteria as Eliza ran back and forth right down the center. There were plenty of cars trying to make their way through but seeing nothing was moving except for the speedster, they decided to start abandoning their cars.

"I hear creaking..." Belén's eyes were wide when she heard the first creak.

Barry leaned to the side to get a view of the underground poles going through the water. "Yeah...that's...that's her."

Belén raised her head to see the wires above starting to shake as well.

"There's about 200 people on that bridge right now!" Caitlin informed them through their comms.

"Way too many for just one of us," Belén said quick before thinking of another plan.

"Oh no!" Black Orchid rose from a few vines on the cement. "We've got this. Plus, I brought another friend."

The Tempest landed from the sky right next to Black Orchid. Belén was truly surprised because Nina hardly ever used her abilities.

"And Iris says I need to work on my people skills," Black Orchid crossed her arms, scoffing again at the idea.

However, Iris had just come into the cortex and overheard the woman's statement. "You _do_!" she reiterated, much to Shivhan's annoyance.

"Okay, we got this," Belén grinned at the backup. She looked to Barry and gave him a nod. "You catch Eliza. We'll take care of the people."

"Alright," Barry smiled before taking off. He knocked Eliza all the way to the opposite end of the bridge, and just in time because the creaks Belén had heard were now full on snapping. He looked back and saw Belén fervently pulling people off the bridge with her vines while Nina zipped back and forth carrying others out. Shivhan was swiping people off the ground via a vine slide.

"We've got a lot of these people hurt," Nina said. Many people had been trampled over in the run to get off the bridge. She would have to start making trips to the hospital.

Barry was just about to go after Eliza when the bridge gave a terrible, violent shake. He rocked on his feet and while he attempted to get his balance he saw the middle of the bridge breaking apart.

"Trajectory's too far away," Cisco informed Barry afterwards. "You won't get to her running across the river."

"I will if I jump," Barry countered, though the idea did make his stomach churn. He hadn't quite mastered that trick yet.

"He would need to MAch 3.3," Harry said over the comms. "But only for a second."

"A second is enough to die," Belén had come up beside Barry, giving him a sharp look. "And you better not die!"

That was her motivation speech, alright. "I don't have a choice."

"I can fly you there!" Nina exclaimed over the comms. "I'm coming back from the hospital."

"No, you're too far. I _have_ to do this," Barry said. He'd been working too hard on this to let it beat him. He needed to get it right.

"Do it," Belén said, though he knew there was a 'but' coming in afterwards, "But if you're falling I'll pull you out and we'll cross together." She understood his desire to complete the jump on his own, but she refused to let him die out of stubbornness.

Barry positioned himself just like at the canyon and took a breath, focusing on just getting across. It was all he had to do. Get across. Simple enough...he hoped. He then sped off, following his mantra of just getting across. There was no one on the bridge except for their team now - hopefully that would make it a little easier. Before he thought more about it, he took off.

Belén blinked fast with the force of the wind trail he left behind. She watched intently as he rushed through the air and grinned when he made a clean landing on the other side...once again punching Eliza down to the ground. The woman went rolling down the street and knocked into a local street manufacture.

Eliza gasped for air as she tried to get back on her feet. Her body was near limp, falling back for a second. Barry got up much easier.

"It's over, Eliza."

Eliza chortled and resigned to be on her knees for the moment until she gathered enough strength. "It's never over." She took out another velocity-9 syringe ready to go.

"Wait, hey!" Barry motioned her to stop for a second. "Stop doing this to yourself. You don't actually want to hurt anyone."

"You don't know...anything about me," Eliza gritted her teeth together.

"No, I know you're not a bad person. This is the V-9 in your system," Barry started slow seeing she had her attention. "I also know what it feels like to want to be the best. It makes you feel like there's not enough time to accomplish things the right way, but it's a cop-out. And this is killing you. Look at yourself, Eliza. You're not well. Let us help you, please."

Eliza seemed to consider his words for a minute, but then it went to hell. She plunged the syringe into her thigh. Immediately her skin regained its color and she her strength. She got up with a laugh. "That is all the help I need. How does it feel to know that I am faster than you will ever be?" she mocked him. Barry wasn't liking the way the blue electricity crackled around her body. "See you around." She gave a mock-salute and sped off.

Barry wasn't sure if he was seeing right. "The lightning, it's turning blue…"

And then, just out of nowhere, Eliza screamed while her body disintegrated into dust. Her blue electricity had gobbled her up.

~ 0 ~

The next morning, Belén and Iris were very happy to turn in articles revealing Eliza Harmon as the true speedster behind the thievery to their editor's office.

"He's not that bad, actually," Iris commented about him as the two women returned to their desks. "I had coffee with him yesterday and he...just seems to share different opinions about metahumans."

"Listen, if you've got a crush on him, that's fine," Belén raised a hand to show she didn't care. "But I still don't like him." Iris chuckled and decided to leave it alone. "And I'm pretty sure that he doesn't like me. Kind of makes me wonder if going forwards with this article is worth it."

"Oh, you are _so_ doing it," Nina surprised her with her presence. She and Shivhan had come into the building without Belén noticing.

"Nina," Belén got up from her chair to hug her friend. She felt like it'd been a while since she saw Nina. "Thanks for last night."

"Any time," Nina gave a nod then shared a look with Iris that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Belén asked.

"Iris told me about what you've been struggling with and I can't believe you would let some doppelganger put you down like this. You are nothing like Datura. You have united so many of us, I don't think you've ever realized how many people you have unified. I mean, you brought me into STAR Labs. You've helped me become the...you know..."

"And you helped me be a better version of...you know," Shivhan did the same head bob as Nina.

"You brought me along too," Iris joined in. "I'm not like them-" she gestured to Nina and Shivhan, "-but you did bring me to STAR Labs too. You made me a part of the team when I have no powers."

"And now you have the chance to do the same across the Green," Shivhan said with a growing, excited smile."You can unify so many of our brothers and sisters. Datura can't take that away."

"You guys are the best," Belén chuckled. She truly had the best friends in the entire world. With all the happiness that surged from her, she wondered - for a brief moment - if Datura had this on her Earth. Because Belén knew that she would not be able to be who she was today, if she didn't have her friends.

~ 0 ~

"Are we still hanging that?" Belén eyed what was left of Eliza's suit hanging on a silver hanger in the cortex.

Iris couldn't take her eyes off it either. "Did she really just evaporate from running too fast?"

"Those _are_ the rumors…" Belén mumbled and turned away from the hanger, finding it too creepy to keep staring at it.

"It was because of cellular degeneration," Caitlin told them, pursing her lips together. The thought of Jay was still raw for her after all.

"Jay warned us V-9 was dangerous. At least now we know why," Joe gave a light shrug of her shoulders.

Cisco noticed Harry walking in from yet another failed trip of finding Jesse. None of them really knew where Jesse had gotten to. "You find Jesse?"

"She went out," Harry left it at that and Cisco decided not to keep asking.

"Barry, what's wrong?" Belén had seen him a bit too silent and pensive even for him.

He was reliving the moment he saw Eliza disappear into nothing. The way her _blue_ lightning was the last thing he saw. It hadn't been blue the last time he had fought her, but then...Jay's had always been blue...and…

"Barry?" Belén's voice cut through his thoughts.

"It's just right before Eliza disappeared, her lightning, it turned blue…" he began to share his thoughts.

"What if it's a side effect of the V-9?" Joe theorized, something that both Belén and Iris agreed on.

"Yeah, but Jay took Velocity-9, and his lightning didn't turn blue," Caitlin was quick to point out.

"About how fast was he running?" Barry inquired.

"Not as fast as Eliza."

"All right, so what if V-9 is what turns your lightning blue? I mean, that would explain why Zoom is so much faster than me."

"If that's true, then that means he's sick, right?" Joe followed the same guidelines from other issues.

There was a tough atmosphere left in the air as everyone came to the same conclusion.

"Zoom's dying," Belén released a small, bitter laugh. "He's dying too. And that's why he wants your speed," she motioned to Barry. "Same as Datura. What are the odds?"

But in all those discoveries, Barry had made another connection. "Same as Jay."

Caitlin was horrified at such an assumption. She fervently shook her head and exclaimed, "No! Absolutely not!"

"See, he died right in front of us," Cisco reminded just to make sure they were all thinking logically. They had all seen it, after all.

"Reverse Flash tricked us, remember?" Belén crossed her arms. Her eyes were gazing towards Jay's helmet under the display case. "Who's to say Zoom didn't do the same."

Caitlin pursed her lips, her face going pale with horror. She couldn't believe they were actually discussing this - they were actually _doubting_ Jay's integrity.

"I guess now would be a good time to tell you all I've been vibing Zoom," Cisco scrunched his face after his admission. Everyone gaped.

"What? You... for how long?" Barry turned on him.

"It started when we closed the last breach. And every time it's happened, I've been near that thing."

Barry rubbed his face, unable to actually believe the same thing was about to happen _again_. He snatched a silver object from a nearby table and stormed over to the glass display. There was no hesitation as he shattered the glass to get to the helmet. Caitlin gasped and stepped back, bumping into Iris in the process.

"We need to know," Barry held out the helmet to Cisco.

Gulping, Cisco took the helmet and focused on the vibe. Everyone unconsciously gathered closer to him, anxiously waiting for him to give the verdict. Cisco suddenly gasped and dropped the helmet. His hand flew to his forehead, completely terrified.

"I saw Jay! He's Zoom!" he said so fast that it was almost impossible to hear.

"No," Caitlin whispered and nearly fell back if Iris hadn't caught her.

A true rage crossed Barry's face at the revelation. He had really fallen for it _again_!? Had the world truly set him up like that again? He kept trusting people and they always failed him in the end.

Belén wasn't a mind reader but she was guessing where Barry's thoughts were heading. She could see the tightening of his jaw from where she stood. "Barry...?" she barely reached a hand out when he zipped out of the cortex. "No!"

He had to scream, scream so loud so that maybe he would knock himself out to see blissful darkness. Because if he stayed right where he was, he might just destroy everything in his path out of utter rage.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I struggled _hard_ to write this chapter because of how Belén was reacting. I wanted her reactions to be both about the mere fact that people were creating cures behind her back but also to show that she was a little afraid of what it meant that Datura was her doppelganger in regards to herself and Barry. But I felt better when I got to write in Iris' and Shivhan's parts here. Belén always fails to see how much good she's done in the past!

 **P. S:** I created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	23. Rogue Reporter

Belén felt like time was passing incredibly slow, and she would know something about Time considering her boyfriend was the Flash. She checked the clock in the office, set right behind her editor's desk, and saw that it had only been about three minutes. Four, max. _It feels like an hour_ , she thought.

She was anxious to know what Evans thought about her newest article. It had to be something special because he hardly ever required his reporters to sit in while he read the pieces. He'd called her into his office almost immediately after she clocked in. He said a couple words about her article she submitted to him last night but nothing concrete about whether or not he was going to publish it. So, there sat Belén, waiting for him to finally finish.

"This is a good article..." he began suddenly, making her heart thump anxiously. She straightened up in her chair as Evans lowered the hard copy to the desk. "But I won't be publishing it."

Belén's heart stopped. Her face fell at the news and yet...she wasn't all that surprised. In fact, she was surprised that she _was_ surprised about Scott's decision. She knew from the start that this article wouldn't be easy to pass, so why was she so shocked to hear it come true?

"It's a good article," Evans repeated as if that would lighten up his decision. "I can't publish it and much less with your name under the byline."

"But...why not?" Belén pushed her chair closed to the desk, leaning forwards over it to touch her hard copy. "You've said it was good, _twice_!"

"And I stand by it but I've noticed something about your work: there's a clear bias for the metahumans in this city."

"Well, considering it's _because_ of those metahumans that I _live_ , I like to show my support for them," Belén picked up her article and skimmed through the paragraphs again. There were no mistakes in it - she proofread it so many times that in the end Barry had to pull her away to go to sleep - and there were no marks from Evans which meant that it really was a good article.

"And there lays the problem," Evans puts his hands together on the desk. "And it's not just you. West has the same issue."

"Well, if we're being honest, _you_ seem to have something _against_ metahumans too," Belén pointed out, recalling what Iris had mentioned to her days ago. "You don't like them and I don't think it's fair you're putting that towards my work. I did all the research for this article, I got interviews with metahumans that this city doesn't even know about yet. It's meant to _unite_ a specific group of metas that are terrified of Datura."

"I know the intention of this article, I do, and I think it's very noble of you to try to do something like this...but I can't have all my workers showing nonstop support for metahumans. You, especially, are geared towards the Flash and the Azalea. Take a break."

"With all due respect, this article has nothing to do with my support for them," Belén kept her tone calm despite the bubbling anger that was growing inside her. "This article is not meant to glam them up. It's meant to offer information to _other_ metahumans, let them know that they can get support from the Azalea, from this place called the Green...it's supposed to help."

"Again, I admire your drive for this. I am aware of your passion for your work, but this is one work that I really don't think will bring any good to this place."

Belén so badly wanted to shout that it _wasn't_ meant for 'this place', but that it was meant for other botanical metahumans. He was missing the entire point!

"Why don't you try re-writing this and gear it towards the public in general?" Evans suggested, but it only served to further agitate Belén more.

"What-"

"Try to make it as a support platform for everyone in general," Evans continued. "You have the right idea, I just think-"

"-no!" Belén shook her head, her ombre-blonde curls bouncing with her. "I can write another article about that but it's not what I want for _this_ piece! This-" she snatched the article off the desk and raised it in the air, "-is meant for botanical metahumans! _They_ are the ones in most danger right now! It's part of the first page - did you read it!?"

"I'd watch your tone, Miss Palayta," Evans' voice sharpened as did his gaze on her. "I understand your upset with this decision-"

"-I don't think you do," Belén's humorlessly chuckled. "I wrote a good piece and more importantly, I wrote it thinking about a community that, up until now, hasn't gotten a lot of support. They're being hunted down and I want to help them. This article can do it!"

Evans did not falter. "I'm sorry. Either rewrite the article using my suggestion or move onto a different subject."

Belén gritted her teeth behind her lips. Her hand gripped the edge of her article but for all the anger she felt, she managed to keep her mouth shut. She whirled around and stormed out of the office.

~ 0 ~

"I shouldn't even be surprised," Belén shook her head after telling her friends what happened to her. There she stood in the middle of the cortex, hands flapping as she got angry all over again. "I _knew_ he wouldn't publish it and I still went ahead and wrote it! Twice!"

"Bells," Barry walked over to her, reaching for her arms that were once again all over in the air. He was angry himself with that editor had turned away the article. He had read it each time Belén showed it to him and each time it was fantastic. How could Evans turn it away?

This was just the tip of the iceberg for them. None of them were in their best states considering they only just discovered Jay was actually Zoom. It was more than difficult to process that once again, they'd been duped by their enemy. Barry had done all the screaming a few days ago and while it passed, it didn't mean he was done. He was holding himself together because everyone else managed to clamber onto some type of state that _didn't_ make them want to scream all day.

"It's my fault," Belén walked over to the desk where Cisco and Caitlin sat. Shivhan stood off to the side, taking sips of coffee. "I knew it and I went ahead and did it anyways." She swiped her article off the desk and headed towards the trash bin where she dropped her article in.

Shivhan nearly choked on her coffee at such a terrible sight.

"Bells!" Barry exclaimed but before he could even move for his girlfriend, Shivhan dashed forwards.

"Nu-uh!" she quickly dove a hand into the bin and pulled out the article. "You did _not_ make us all help you with these interviews for you to just throw it all away!" Belén frowned at her like a child, but Shivhan wasn't done there. "This wasn't just _your_ work! A lot of us put our words there to help you! And you're not going to let some guy-"

"-my _boss_ ," Belén reminded her.

"-ruin all your work!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do!?"

"Publish it yourself!"

Belén paused to look at Shivhan. Everyone else exchanged reluctant looks with each other. None of them were sure that was the best idea, but Shivhan was always a bit more out there than the rest of the group.

"I-I can't..." Belén was shocked by such an idea, and yet there was a itty-bitty part of her that wondered...

"Shivhan, Belén can't go doing something like that," Cisco pushed himself out of his seat. He blinked suddenly then looked at Belén. "Right?"

"I don't think so," Barry said as he watched Belén grow silent, as if she was truly considering the idea. He didn't ever want to tell her what to do about her job, but it did worry him that she might make a rash decision because of her anger. "Belén?"

Shivhan seemed to get the social clue that she'd overstepped. Caitlin was pretty good at her expressions. "S-sorry, Belén. You're upset and I'm not helping - Iris might be right about my people skills."

"No, it's..." Belén reached for her article in Shivhan's hand. She took it back and gazed at the front page, sighing. "I don't know, I'm just..." She couldn't even put together the right words to describe how she felt.

Shivhan decided to move away before she made things worse.

As she moved away, Barry moved in and took Belén into a tight hug. "Can I take you home?" he suggested to her quietly.

Belén gave a small nod of her head. He brought them back to her apartment in just a minute but from there on, he didn't know what else to do for her. There was already so much on their plate that this was just the tip of iceberg.

"I can bring you some of your favorite pasta," he offered after getting settled, or rather after he'd persuaded her to settle in. She'd taken her shoes off, her jacket off, and she was sitting on her bed. "Oh, and we can watch Netflix all day. I think it's been a while since we had a date, right?"

Belén smiled appreciatively at him. "It has."

"So, pasta?"

"You're trying to appeal to my Italian side..." Belén tilted her head, the growing smirk on her face making Barry laugh.

"Caught me!"

"I love it. _E ti amo per questo_ ," the Italian language rolled perfectly off her tongue.

Barry would never get over how _good_ she sounded speaking her second Native language. "No idea what you said but feel free to continue."

Belén laughed. "And I love you for it," she translated and scooted closer to him. "Your attempts to cheer me up."

"Oh...you want to say something else?" Barry asked and made her laugh again. "No seriously. I'd love an Italian lesson from you."

"Something tells me you're not very interested in _learning_ the lesson."

"Maybe so," he admitted with a careless shrug. "I just think you sound incredibly hot speaking Italian."

Belén rolled her eyes in an attempt to be casual but the truth is she was blushing as if it was the first time he said that. He always said that to her. She would say a few sentences in Italian at random moments. Sometimes they would come out when they were having meals together, or when she was mad - they were no strangers to when they were engaging in... _certain_ activities. At those points, Barry would love it even more. Remembering that caused Belén's blush to deepen. It was _not_ the time to remember such things.

"I'll go get you that pasta, then," Barry brought her back to the present with a kiss on the lips. "And maybe a couple for me."

"Thank you," Belén said softly as he climbed off the bed. She knew he was giving his free day up just to cheer her up.

Barry stopped by the bedroom door to look back at her with a smile. "I'll be back," he promised and left the room. Just as he was about to speed out of the apartment, his phone started to ring. He fished the phone out of his pocket and saw Iris' name over the screen. "Hey, Iris."

"Hey! Just calling to make sure we're still on for lunch today," Iris said, immediately confusing Barry since he had already made his plans with Belén. "I told Wally we'd do 4 o'clock and I really hope that you won't be late. Actually, I'm placing all my faith on Belén because I know your track record."

"Lunch?" Barry repeated, scratching the back of his head. "With you and Wally?"

"Yeah, why are you asking me? We agreed - all of us - to do lunch today!"

"Right..." Barry closed his eyes when he remembered that they had. "Um, listen Iris, I think we'll have to-"

"Barry?" Belén's whisper caught him off guard. She had come out the bedroom and leaned against the door. She heard the entire conversation and remembered that they did make plans with Iris and Wally. "Tell her we're still coming."

Barry pressed his hand to the phone as he turned to Belén. "But you're not feeling-"

"I'm fine," Belén offered him her best smile. She leaned off the door and took the few steps necessary to take the phone from him. "Hey, Iris. We'll be at Jitters at 4."

"Make sure Barry's ready," Iris chuckled.

"Of course, don't worry." Belén hung up the call and turned around to face Barry, holding his phone out to him. "Iris doesn't know what's going on. It was her day off and she's sort of seeing him."

"She's _what_?" Barry blinked.

"Yeah so I would really like to keep my personal troubles away from her, at least for now."

"I get that but are you sure that you don't want to stay at home? You're not feeling up to it-"

"-Iris is waiting for us," Belén took his hand and placed his phone on his palm. "I'm going to go get ready." She made sure he held onto his phone and headed back for her room.

~ 0 ~

An hour later, both Belén and Barry were at Jitters having lunch with Iris and Wally. If one looked at Belén, no one would be able to tell that she was upset. She was laughing and keeping up with the conversation just like she always would on any other day. Barry didn't know if he should be happy that she could pull such a stunt or be upset that she felt like she _needed_ to pretend to be happy.

"Honestly Wally, sometimes you make me miss college," Belén said after hearing Wally retell a story about a frat party he'd gone to just last week. "I used to go to some of the sorority parties myself and they almost always ended up going wild."

" _You_ went to those parties?" Iris threw her a disbelieving look.

"Yeah, well, sometimes my friend Hilary used to make me but they were so much fun!"

"I didn't go because I wanted to, my friend took me," Wally chimed in before Iris got the idea that he was wasting time at college. He didn't need that getting back to Joe.

"Right," scoffed Iris. She crossed gazes with Barry and wondered why he was so quiet. "I guess you and I are the only ones who didn't go to those parties, huh?" she had asked in hopes of getting him to join the conversation, but all he did was nod and mumble a 'yeah'. His awkward smile didn't help either.

Belén studied Iris and realized she was beginning to notice Barry's odd behavior. She was just too smart to fool sometimes. "Hey Barry, you think you can get me another matcha tea?"

Of course he would. "Be back," he excused himself as he got out of his stool.

"Is he alright?" Wally asked, having noted Barry's strangely quietness throughout their lunch.

"Yeah, um...just things about work," Belén quickly dismissed it and changed the topic of conversation. She wasn't interested in throwing the blame on Barry when he was like that because of _her_.

"I'm gonna get another refill," Iris excused herself a few seconds later and grabbed her mug off the table.

"So, uh, Iris told me you were working on a new article about metas," Wally said not a moment after his sister was gone. Belén almost choked on her own saliva but managed to pass it off as a regular cough. "I thought it was a pretty cool idea what you were trying to do."

"Yeah, um...yeah," Belén shifted awkwardly in her stool. Leave it to Wally to bring up the very thing she was trying so hard to forget. All this time she shouldn't have concerned herself with Barry and Iris, she should've kept her eye on the quiet one!

"Do you actually know them?" Wally purposely lowered his voice. He leaned on the table a bit, his eyes eagerly looking at her for the answer. "Like...like the Azalea and the Flash?"

"Well, uh...I wouldn't say _p-personally_..." Belén wasn't sure how much she could say without sounding suspicious. None of them had really talked about whether or not they wanted to let Wally in on the STAR Labs secret.

"The things you've written...you pretty much establish that you know both of them."

"Is that what I established?" Belén awkwardly chuckled. "Oh me..."

Wally gave her a look asking her not to treat him like he was stupid. "Seriously. It's not like I'm going to ask who they are. I just think it's cool that they would let you constantly interview them for your work. Kind of makes them sound...normal."

"Normal?" Belén couldn't help the genuine laugh that came out of her mouth.

"Everybody sees them like Gods - you should hear the students at my school. Most of them claim that they're in love with them and others put them on these high pedestals saying that they can't be beat."

"And you think they can be?" Belén asked, choosing not to focus on the fact some people were out there saying they were in love with the Flash. _He's mine so back off_ , she almost rolled her eyes at herself.

"They're humans, aren't they? I don't know, I thought they were kind of lame but after reading your work...it sounds like they actually care about people like us. You know, the non-metas?" Wally smiled at her. Belén almost felt sorry that he was thinking they were part of the same club. "And then Iris told me that you got the Azalea to do this big-deal interview along with other metas like her? That's _cool_! I can't wait to read it when it comes out."

Belén's smile slowly became strained. "Yeah..."

Barry and Iris had just finished ordering their refills at the counter when Iris turned to him demanding to know what was wrong with him. Sometimes it was just too scary how she did that.

"Nothing," the speedster tried playing it off but he forgot that he basically grew up with her. She saw right through him.

"You haven't said two words back there," Iris gave a nod at their table. "And you have a _face_..."

"It's not about me, alright?"

It then took Iris only two seconds to change gears. "What's wrong with Belén?"

"How do you...?" Barry looked at her like she was some psychic because sometimes it felt like she wasn't just a regular human.

Iris rolled her eyes at him. "Barry Allen you better tell me what is going on right now." There was a sharpness in her tone that always, without fail, made Barry wince as if he'd just gotten in trouble.

"I really can't. Belén said it would upset you and that editor of yours. The one you're apparently dating - thanks for letting me know, by the way!"

"What?" Iris didn't seem as surprised as Barry thought she would be considering no one knew she'd been seeing the editor. Instead, she looked confused. "I'm not dating..." she shook her head with a sigh. "I'm _not_ dating Scott."

Now it was Barry's turn to be confused. "What? Bells told me you were having coffee dates with him."

"Yeah, like 2 or 3 times but that's not happening anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Iris looked away. She didn't want to get into that right now. She had only just recently decided to stop those little dates and if she explained it to him or even Belén, she would have to bring in the reason. She didn't know if she was ready to talk about _him_ yet. "That's not important right now. I want to know why you're so quiet and why Belén is, apparently, pretending to have fun right now."

"Iris-"

"-I swear to God if you don't tell me I _will_ embarrass you in front of your girlfriend. I do have untold stories. Shall we go back to freshman year?"

"Stop!" Barry ordered her instantly. "It's that...that article you helped her rewrite, remember? Apparently, your editor decided not to run it because Bells has some bias towards metas, specifically the Azalea and the Flash."

"Oh no," Iris sighed. She knew that would always be a risk, they all knew it, but like Belén she had hoped that Scott would see past his own bias _against_ metas to realize how helpful Belén's article could be.

"I'm pissed, honestly," Barry admitted and it felt good to be able to express it too. He hadn't done much because he wanted to help Belén and the last thing she needed was an angry boyfriend. "I read that article and if it did get published, a _lot_ of botanical metas would benefit from it. The Azalea could potentially bring together an entire community. And Scott-" he spat the editor's name viciously, leaving Iris stunned that he could even _be_ like that, "-decides that _Belén_ has a problem. _He_ has the problem if he can't see what this article could do."

"Calm down," Iris said, patting his arm and nodding to the barista who was now a bit nervous to approach them with their refills. Barry turned away to gather himself up. He rarely went into states like that in public. Usually it was around STAR Labs or by himself, but like Belén he was tired of everything going wrong for them.

"It's not fair, alright? And the only reason I haven't marched down there myself is because I know how much Belén loves her job." He grabbed his mug from the barista.

"We'll find a way to get it published," Iris assured him.

"Hey," Belén suddenly joined them at the counter. She took her mug from Barry's hands and looked between them. "Wally and I have been waiting for you two. How long do refills take?"

"Drop the act Annah-Belén," Iris promptly said, startling Belén for a moment. "I know everything."

"Dammit Barry!"

"I couldn't help it!" the speedster raised his hands in defense. "Plus, she's not even dating the editor anymore."

"Oh, it doesn't - wait, how come?" Belén fixated a concerned, yet puzzled, gaze on Iris.

The reporter groaned, throwing her head back. "That's not important right now!"

"Yes, yes it is. What happened?"

"It doesn't matter!" Iris ultimately snapped to silence them both. "I _don't_ want to talk about it, alright? But what I _do_ want to talk about is this article. We need to figure out a way to get it published."

"Well you never know, I might just end up publishing it on my own," Belén muttered, earning herself wide-eyed looks from the two siblings. "What?"

"Bells, I know that's what Shivhan said but even she realized that wasn't a good idea."

"I just don't know, Barry. Maybe it's time I stopped acting so much like me and pick up a little something from Datura. She wouldn't take this crap! Why shouldn't I publish my article on my own?" she waited for one of them to answer her, but neither could come up with a decent response. "Exactly. I work hard every day to make sure my articles are _good_ but something always goes wrong with me. I can't catch a break and I'm tired of it." She gazed down at her mug and shook her head. She moved up to the counter and left the mug on it. "I think I need to go home. Tell Wally I'm sorry, I...got a headache or something."

"Bells..." Barry couldn't even touch her arm with how fast she moved away from them. "Great!"

"We'll figure it out," Iris promised him again. They always figured everything out and this wouldn't be an exception.

~ 0 ~

Belén had planned on going directly home after such a lunch, but her mother called her midway asking her to stop by her place instead. Even if Belén wasn't sure she could take more conversations, she changed directions. Her mother wouldn't be accepting 'no'.

"Auntie Belén, look!" Axel called her over the moment she walked into the house. He was sitting at the dining table, animated over a drawing he was working on. As she walked over, he flashed a picture of a bright orange fish inside a fish bowl. "I made it for show and tell tomorrow."

Belén laughed as she studied the drawing. "It's wonderful."

Axel beamed with his aunt's compliment. He stood on the chair and leaned on her so he could tap a finger over the paper. "It's my pet fish - Goldie."

Belén had to suppress her hard laugh at the name. _Goldie_. "So, um, why don't you bring in the actual fish to school instead?"

Veronica emerged from the kitchen, loudly clearing her throat and making a cutting motion across her neck. Belén didn't understand what she'd said wrong until she noted Axel's entire mood changing. He glumly took his picture back and sat down on the chair again.

"Grandma says I can't because I could break the fish bowl glass…"

"Way to go, Belén," Veronica muttered.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Axel," Belén kissed her nephew's head. "Maybe we can find a better fish bowl for your next show and tell."

"Axel, go upstairs while I talk with your aunt," Veronica promptly ushered the boy off his chair. Axel grabbed his crayon box and went towards the stair case.

"Belén," Veronica said as soon as Axel had gone. Belén immediately noticed her mother's strange expression. "I've been thinking about our situation with Zoom and Datura..."

"You and me both," sighed Belén. She collected all the sprawled papers on the table that Axel left behind.

"I decided that this place isn't safe for Axel anymore." Veronica watched her daughter freeze in the middle of shuffling papers in her hands. "I know it's hard to actually believe it but-"

"No, it's not," Belén said quietly. Of course she knew that Central City was no longer as safe as it once was. It was just one of those things that she would push to the back of her mind.

Veronica was relieved that she could at least slip the arguing concerning the safety levels of the city, but she wasn't sure if she'd have the same luck with the next part. "Leaving Axel with Mrs. Andrews doesn't really make me feel secure. I could potentially be putting an old woman in danger."

 _Another valid point_ , Belén sighed at. She could see her mother struggling to put her next words together, probably assuming that she would get angry at her for it. "Mom? What is it?"

Veronica exhaled and went for it. "I want to send Axel away...to your father's family in Italy."

Belén's eyes widened like dinner plates. "To _Italy_!?" she exclaimed ouder than she'd intended to, but the idea was a bit much too handle easily. "You want to send him to Italy!?"

Veronica had prepared herself for this type of reaction. She wasn't going to yell at Belén to listen to her, but she would make a damn good argument on _why_ it was the best option for Axel. "I know it's far away-"

"Try 'on the other side of the world'!" Belén exclaimed, turning away from Veronica. Tears were stinging inside her eyes. Their family was already separated enough and now Axel would be in _Italy_!?

"I know that it's far but that's the _point_. Zoom and Datura wouldn't waste their precious breaths trying to find a four year old in Italy. They'd forget about trying to use him against us. He would be _safe_ , Belén. Isn't that what we want?"

Belén's legs seemed like they wanted to stomp but she controlled herself and instead turned back to face her mother. Of course that made sense. It made absolute sense. It just didn't mean it would be easy. "Italy...?"

Veronica nodded her head. "I can call your Nona and set it all up. I just want you to be on boars with this. I won't send him if you don't agree. No more fighting."

Tears rolled down Belén's face but it wasn't all for Axel. Time was she had battled it out for Axel's custody with her mother and now, despite having full custody over him, Veronica was giving her the power to decide his fate.

"I'd love to argue to keep him here but you're right. It's not safe for him to be around us," Belén sniffed. A deep anger crossed her face when she remembered all those times they allowed Jay to be around Axel. They couldn't let that happen again. "Italy will be good for him. He'll have fun and-and he'll be around the family."

Relief filled Veronica's face hearing Belén agree. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Belén wiped the tears off her face. "Kind of jealous. I haven't been to Italy in forever. Miss my _Nonno_ Maxi."

Veronica chuckled. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"Alright," Belén exhaled with resignation. She nodded at her mother. "Let's do it. Let's send Axel away to Italy."

"Thank you," Veronica walked up to her and hugged her.

"It's just so hard having to let him go," Belén hugged her mother tightly. She didn't want to keep losing family members.

"I know," Veronica sighed. "But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. It might not be easy, it might bring some problems, but if you're doing it for the right reasons...then it has to be done."

Veronica's words struck a chord she hadn't intended on. Belén started thinking about her article. It would never see the light of day even when it was really meant to help many people.

 _Do what you gotta do._

~0~

When Barry came back to the apartment, he expected to have some trouble persuading Belén to talk to him. Instead, she had shouted that the door was opened and the moment he walked in he was met with the sweet scent of chocolate. It took him a moment to realize that she was making _cookies_.

"Hey!" she emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of chocolate cookies. "Want a Chocolate Amaretti?"

"Wh-what? How...what...you're making cookies!?"

Belén nearly laughed at Barry's adorable confused face. "Yes, I am. My _Nona_ Enger used to make these for me when I was younger. She taught me how to make it-" she took a bite into one of the cookies, "-but I don't think I could ever make them taste the same."

If Barry was confused before, now he was bewildered. "I thought you were..." his hand gestures didn't exactly make sense but Belén knew what he was trying to say.

"I was upset, but I fixed it," she set the bowl on the table, along with her half eaten cookie. "I visited my Mom today. We, uh...we decided to send Axel away to our family in Italy."

Barry blinked, his body lurching forwards as if his feet forgot how to stand. "What?"

Belén looked up with saddened, but resigned, eyes. "It's not safe for him anymore, Barry. We all know that Zoom and Datura will eventually come back and when they do, I'd rather not have Axel around. Mom's arranging things to send him as quick as possible."

"Bells, I'm sorry," Barry walked over to her and kissed her temple.

"No, don't be. It's the best thing we can do for him. He's four, you know? He shouldn't have live surrounded by our meta troubles. Where my Dad's family lives...it's a small town, it's lovely. Axel will love it there." But as she spoke, Belén's eyes pooled in her eyes. It was truly going to be so hard to let her nephew go, even if it was for a temporary period.

Barry wrapped an arm around her waist. "You _are_ making a good decision. I know it hurts-"

"It does," Belén turned to him, taking in a deep breath for what she was about to say next. "I agreed to it because it was something I had to do, something that I needed to do...just like my article." She licked her lips nervously and stepped away from him. "I...published my article."

Barry stepped towards her but she quickly retracted the same step back. "You got Evans to publish it?"

"Not exactly. I...published it on my own. I, uh, made a blog - like the one Iris used to have - and I published my article there. With my name and everything."

"Wh-wh-why...what!?" Barry exclaimed, giving her a look that begged her to take it back, to say that it was just a joke. "Belén, tell me you didn't actually-"

"I did!" Belén raised her head high, making it clear that she wasn't ashamed of it. "I had to do it-"

"-you didn't _have_ to-"

"I did!" snapped Belén as she moved past him in a determined stride. "And I didn't do it as a rash decision, like some little girl who was mad! I did because I _had_ to! I _needed_ to!"

"But you could get into trouble with your editor!" Barry turned around and watched her pace to and from him. "Belén!"

"I'm listening!" she stopped pacing to face him. "I had to! Datura _is_ coming back and when she does I want every botanical metahuman that's afraid of her to know that they're not alone!" Her shouts increased in volume each time she said something new. " That there's so many of us out there! I needed them to know that so they won't be as scared as I used to be!"

Silence hung in the air afterwards.

Barry stood in his spot and watched her try to calm herself down. Her chest heaved up and down until she was able to speak in a normal volume.

"I used to be _so_ afraid of Datura back then. I still am but with reasonable amount. Back then, before I knew about the Green, I thought it was a lost battle," she swallowed thickly. "And when I finally learned that I wasn't alone...Barry you have no idea how I felt. It was..."

Barry strode up to her for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her so tightly one would think he was afraid that she'd slip away. "I didn't know," he murmured over her head.

"Of course you didn't," Belén moved her hands up his back. "I didn't even realize it myself. I thought it through, Barry, and I know the risks that I'm taking. I needed to do it so that others won't have to live in fear."

"You are incredibly brave, you know that?"

"Hardly, they're words."

"Still. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did, and no matter what happens...I'll be here for you."

Belén smiled up at him in relief. She'd been nervous to tell him what she did. It wasn't something to take lightly but she wouldn't backtrack. "Thank you," she kissed him on the lips.

"Always together, right?" Barry tilted her chin upwards, giving her reassuring smile.

"I'm really lucky to have you," she sighed and leaned on him. A little part of her wondered to herself _how_ Datura had gone on the way she had without her Barry. _Maybe that's why she went psycho_. She couldn't imagine what her life would be if she couldn't be with Barry. She wouldn't go 'psycho' but she definitely wouldn't be able live happily either.

"Sooo...we're making cookies tonight?" Barry let her go to turn back to the table. They smelled _really_ good.

"Well since Axel's leaving to Italy, I'm kind of nostalgic for my family. My Nona Enger used to bake these with me."

"If this is our dinner then I'm definitely sleeping over," Barry drifted towards the table and grabbed a cookie from the bowl. Belén watched him happily munch on her cookies, almost laughing when he moaned on the second bite. "Oh yeah," he said in-between bites, "I'm definitely staying tonight."

A new thought suddenly popped into Belén's head. It made her feel stupid for not thinking about it before, and she meant _way_ before. "Why don't you just stay?" she asked.

Barry was too engulfed in the pieces of heaven that were the cookies to understand Belén the first time. "If you continue baking these, I'll stay here for days!"

Belén rolled her eyes and tried to make her words more clear. "I meant, why don't you just _move in_?"

This time, Barry understood. He stopped just as he was about to drop the last bit of cookie into his mouth. "What?"

Belén would ignore the heat in her face as she went on with her proposal. "You're here for most of the week anyways. I mean, really, you're only at Joe's and Iris' to do like, laundry or something. I'd love to have you here every night with me, all day with me. Wouldn't you?"

Barry didn't need to think twice on the answer. "Of course!"

It was easy to become excited with that kind of answer. "So...so you want to move in? For real?"

"Yes! I'd love to."

Belén beamed and rushed up to him for a hug. Barry caught her with a laugh and gave her a little spin. When he set her back on the ground, he reached for another cookie in the bowl.

"But you're going to have make more of these," he warned her before dropping it all in his mouth.

Belén laughed. "Moderation, Barry!" He tried to say something along of 'I'm trying' but Belén couldn't understand him. "So, you obviously can't stay in Axel's room because he's, well, four…"

"Obviously…" Barry said after swallowing.

Belén cupped her face, chuckling as she cleared the crumbs off his lips. "So...I guess you'll just have to stay with _me_ in my room… _our_ room."

"That sounds fair," a roguish smile etched across Barry's face. "I should get my stuff, then..." With his speed, it'd only take a few minutes after all.

"Nah, let's wait until tomorrow," Belén grabbed another cookie and held it to him. He gladly took another bite and watched her drop the remainder in her mouth. "I've got another batch in the oven..."

Barry's eyes widened as a gleeful expression took him over. Belén dared say it almost won over his reaction about moving. She burst into laughter, having to move away from him to really get it out.

A part of her realized, in the midst of everything, that she truly wouldn't be able to live without her Barry.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : This chapter was a bit of a roller-coaster buuuuuut...nope, yeah, it's just a roller-coaster. Sometimes I feel like I put Belén through so much crap but at least she's surrounded by people who love her right? Makes up for it?

 **To the reviewer:**

 **mreddy1603:** Awww, this is really sweet! It totally made my day when I read this! Thank you sooo much! I hope you stick around for the next chapters and stories to see more of Bells!

 **P. S:** I created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	24. A Flashback

_You're suspended, indefinitely._

"I had a long talk with my editors about the article I published on my own without their approval and...that was last week," Belén crossed one leg over the other in her chair. She sat across her therapist, Dr. Baeva, and finished telling her everything that had happened as of late. It felt like an eternity since the last time Belén came by her therapist's office. But then again, a _lot_ happened since then.

Dr. Baeva was a longtime confidant of Nina Clarke and she passed onto be Belén's as well, which was Belén really needed right now. She needed someone who would look at this situation without biases, and certainly somebody who wasn't going to give her the sorrowful look.

"And how have you taken that?" Dr. Baeva inquired.

Belén exhaled lightly. The smile tugging on her face gave off the feeling she wasn't that upset, at least not in the way someone would naturally be.

"Honestly? I'm fine." Belén almost laughed each time she said it because sometimes even she couldn't quite believe it. "I know, I know, totally strange. You might think I'm lying - Barry thought that too. My Mom thinks that I'm secretly crying in the bathroom. I'm _not_!"

It was true that Dr. Baeva was giving her the same look Veronica had when she first learned the news. But of course Dr. Baeva knew a lot of Belén's personal, deepest thoughts. It was was convincing her than Veronica.

"I know that logically speaking, I _should_ be upset. I'm suspended, without pay, and my future at CC Pictures is at stake...but I _am_ okay," Belén uncrossed her legs and leaned forwards. "My conscience is clear. I _know_ that publishing my article was the right thing to do. There's been such a good feedback from it. I don't know if the people who responded are metas in hiding or if they're just civilians, but it doesn't matter. People are reading it and they're spreading the word. Who ever needs help will finally have a way to get it. How could I feel bad about that?"

"Okay," Dr. Baeva nodded. "So let's go down this road. What would you do if your job is terminated at CC Pictures? Would you feel bad then?"

"Of course I'd be upset," Belén wouldn't even try denying that. "I have worked at CC Pictures for years now. I started as an intern when I was in college. It's the only reporter job I've ever had. If I do get fired, then yes...I would be upset. But that wouldn't make me regret publishing my article. I do stand by that. It's the _only_ thing I'm certain about these days..."

Dr. Baeva sensed that the real reason behind this new appointment would start now so, as she always did, she guided Belén through the transition of topics. "Is there something you're not certain about?"

Belén's tongue played with the roof of her mouth for a few seconds before she finally nodded her head. "My doppelganger. I still haven't decided whether or not I want to help her. And I know how hypocritical that must sound considering what I just said before, but this is entirely different. This is a woman who has chosen to hurt and kill people because she likes it. I always thought of her the villain..."

"Has that changed now that you've discovered her real identity?"

Belén straightened in her chair and leaned her back against the cushion. "She's me but we are nothing alike. The only things we have in common is our life for beautiful, toxic plants and our love for the same man. And that's..." Belén's left hand raised to make a gesture but even that couldn't help her when she thought about Datura. "Being different is _also_ something that gets me."

"How so?" asked Dr. Baeva.

"Because she's me but she...she made all the wrong choices _because_ of the one _good_ choice that she made. I don't know what mind of life she had before except that she was married and supposedly happy...but what I do know is that she made one decision to save her husband's life and that was it. After that, she made the worst decisions until she became...Datura."

"And what is the question that you're trying to ask here?"

Belén would be more surprised how the woman knew what she wanted to ask if she hadn't know Baeva for a year now. With a humorless laugh, Belén answered, "If she started out like me, at what _point_ did she _stop_ being like me and the rest of our doppelgangers? Assuming that they're not evil and I am actually the runt of us. _Why_ would she become like this?"

"And have you also considered a way to find the answers?"

"Not yet. Things are so complicated. I mean, the only way to get answers is if..." Belén was about to laugh when the answer hit her straight in the face, "...I ask somebody who knows her."

"Do you actually have someone?" Dr. Baeva asked, genuinely curious now.

"Well, my first go-to would naturally be her husband but...he's a bit out of reach so...I could ask the next person who knows her best. _Poison Ivy._ "

~0~

"I know how to learn a new way to get faster!" Barry announced that night when he and Belén were having dinner. They'd just finished their spaghetti and were clearing up the table to have dessert in the living room.

Belén had come back to the table with a bowl of chocolate amaretti cookies (Barry had declared them his favorite dinner and now they had to have a bowl every night). "Really? What'd you come up with?"

Barry licked his lips nervously, preparing himself for what was to come next...because he was pretty sure how Belén would react to his idea. "I need to see the old Wells, Thawne. I can time travel and just ask him as if I were the version of myself in that time. It's simple and quick!"

Belén had to slowly put the bowl of cookies on the table before she dropped it. Her eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates but as stunned as she was, the words were failing her.

"Belén...?" Barry was waiting for her reaction and watching her go silent only made him more anxious.

"...it's my fault," she suddenly said, almost laughing as if everything was just a joke. "I left you unsupervised."

Barry's face fell flat as she turned away from him. "Hey!"

"It's a stupid idea, Barry!" she whirled around, ready to fight until they settled an agreement until Barry threw a very good point.

"Hey, you're the one who wants to talk to Poison Ivy!"

Belén froze in her spot, eyes narrowing on him. Barry, however, would not back down. He understood her reaction, yes, but just like she felt like she needed to talk to Poison Ivy, he knew that he needed to talk to Thawne.

"I don't want to argue," he said, raising his hands to show he wanted peace. Belén crossed her arms over her chest, huffing but giving him the floor to speak. "It's a crazy idea-" he winced when she scoffed, "-but it's the only chance I have. It pains me, believe me, that I have to go back and ask that man to help me."

Belén slowly sighed once she realized he was right. It had to be hard going back to Thawne, of all people, to ask for help. "It just scares me, alright? He's so dangerous. He killed your Mom, killed my Dad...he almost killed Cisco? He's hurt all of us! The idea of you going back there..."

"I know, I know," Barry moved over to her and hugged her. "I'll be careful, I promise...just like I hope you promise me that you'll be careful when you talk to Poison Ivy."

Belén pulled away and nodded her head. "She's not gonna get to me, I promise. I know what I want to ask her, what I want to talk about. Besides, she'll be behind the pipeline glass. You, on the other hand, are going to be face to face with Thawne. For the love of God, don't die on me."

"I can honestly say that I'll try my best."

"Good, because if you die...I'll kill you," she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and pulled him close for a kiss.

"...you taste like spaghetti," he murmured against her lips.

Belén let go of him and pushed him away. "Consider yourself single."

It was a struggle for Barry to contain his laughter when he went after her.

~ 0 ~

When Barry shared his idea with the rest of their friends, he was no stranger to unwelcoming responses. Harry made his stance known very clear and no matter what he was not going to be helping because it would simply be disastrous. Still, with Caitlin and Cisco it was another story. Although they were at first uneasy about the idea they gradually took to it and decided to help Barry. Secretly they thought he would go through with the plan with or without them. They figured it would be better and safer if they just helped.

So then they planned. And outlined. Everything.

The only one who couldn't give a proper opinion throughout the whole process was Shivhan because she had no idea what Thawne was capable of. She was more focused on Belén wanting to go talk to Poison Ivy. But she still helped in what she could.

"Man, I could have really used you guys during my finals," Belén was staring at the clear board filled with Hartley Rathaway's profile and the events that followed throughout the day Barry was meant to go back to.

"You were planning on time travelling too?" Cisco walked by with a marker twirling between his fingers.

"Ha, ha," Belén rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Cisco stopped by the second board they'd placed and began to plan out loud so that everyone was on the same page. "So Barry's gonna go back to the time when Wells was distracted by the return of the major jackass, Hartley Rathaway. This is the first time we found out Wells knew the accelerator might explode, and we were all angry with him, so anything that might seem odd about your-" he pointed at Barry, "-behavior Wells should attribute to that. Also remember: Do not underestimate Hartley. He almost killed you."

Caitlin emerged from one of the siderooms with a silver syringe in her hands. "This is a tranq dart that should knock 'old' you out for about six hours, which lines up perfectly for when you're going back, because not much was happening until Hartley attacked the Cleveland Dam that night, so that should give you time to learn what you need and return."

" _Safely_ , I may add," Belén raised a finger.

"One more thing," Cisco said before Barry could open his mouth, "You cannot tell us the truth about Wells, no matter what. You must keep the timeline intact. It's gonna be hard if anything gets altered, so get what you need and come back, preferably to this moment, this exact time you're leaving, or else you might set off some kind of "12 Monkeys" time loop you'll never get out of. No pressure."

'Yeah," Barry scoffed, blinking a little too fast even for him.

"There _is_ one more thing, um...that I'd like to point out," Belén raised a finger from her spot. "And this is totally just about us-" she motioned between them, "-but I just remembered that I wasn't really talking to you that day."

"What?" Barry frowned, immediately racking his mind for that specific memory.

"Man, what did you do that time to piss her off?" Shivhan thought she mumbled under her breath but Caitlin an Cisco chuckled at her while Barry mock-glared at her. "Sorry," she added, though she didn't look very apologetic as she sat back in her seat at the desk.

"This is right after I first saw Rayan, remember?" Belén pulled Barry's attention back. "Where he made me pick between you and him? And then I chose _you_?"

"Riiiiight..." Barry cheekily smiled at her. "And you have no idea how much that means to me."

"Mhm," Belén had crossed her arms and was close to glaring.

"You might wanna go before she poisons you," Cisco clapped Barry on the shoulder. "Young Bells is gonna be a dream-"

"Hey!" went the woman in question.

Barry was quick to make his leave, but did plant a kiss of apology on Belén's lips on his way out. Down to the pipeline he went and did what he did best: run. He successfully opened up a time portal and was running as fast as he could until a strange, floating brown creature zoomed over his head and disoriented him enough so that he ended up coming out of the portal at the wrong time.

He had come _early_.

He saw Hartley standing against his younger self and Belén, Hartley going at it with his boring ole monologue. Barry remembered that at one point Hartley attacked them by surprise and so he waited for that moment. Sure enough, a couple seconds later, Hartley blasted both younger versions against a glass sign. It was perfect because Hartley was distracted and Belén was partially out cold enough that neither would notice the strange gust of wind from the speedster.

While his younger self did put up a fight, Barry put him down with Caitlin's tranquilizer and took his place without anyone ever noticing. And because he remembered how he had defeated Hartley the first time, it was an easy thing getting the guy too.

~ 0 ~

Hartley was glum and angry when he got put into the pipeline pods. Cisco was having the pipeline scan him for everything he had.

"Scanners picking up foreign metallic objects in your ears," Cisco looked over to Hartley suspiciously. "Take 'em out."

Hartley glowered. "I can't. I suffered head trauma when S.T.A.R. Labs exploded. My hearing was severely damaged. Without these, I am in pain you can only imagine."

Barry remembered just what those devices ended up doing the last time, and since he was in no mood to see one of his best friends and girlfriend (who wasn't technically his girlfriend at this point) be blasted, he spoke up. "Cisco, see if the devices in his ears are generating any low level electromagnetic pulses."

Cisco's eyes widened. "You want me to scan for E-bombs?"

"I just... I mean, don't you think that could've been what was interfering with the comms?"

Cisco found it strange but he went ahead with Barry's suggestion and was surprised to find that he was right. "Well, well, trying to go all "Mission: Impossible" on us? Use those things to bust out of here?"

Wells (or Thawne) came into the pipeline speaking words of Latin, never noticing the look he was getting from Barry. "Pump in some sound stimuli to counteract his tinnitus. Then we'll make some nonexplosive replacements for him." Hartley glared his way but Wells merely muttered a 'Deal with you later' and began to leave.

"Dr. Wells?" Barry went to catch up with him.

"That was quite an observation you had about Hartley in there, Mr. Allen," Wells remarked but Barry wasn't interested in getting compliments from him. Too bad he still had to play along.

"Yeah, it just seemed too easy taking him down, you know?"

"Mm-hmm, well, the likely reason for that is you're getting faster."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. It occurred to me that maybe we've been going about improving my speed the wrong way."

Wells was of course interested. "How so?"

As Barry began to explain, he drew Wells into the cortex, catching Caitlin and Belén in one of the side rooms with the latter getting her cuts healed. He pulled in one of the clear boards and wrote the same equations and expressions he had in HIS his time. "I've been learning different techniques involved in running, and I was thinking that there's just as much science involved in speed as anything physical or technical. I just can't figure out how to apply it to me when I run. Thought if anybody could help me, it'd be you."

Wells was of course taken aback by the problem Barry had put on the board. "This is quite the... speed equation you've concocted here, isn't it, Mr. Al?"

"Yeah, I've been doing a lot of reading in my downtime…"

"What on earth inspired you to adopt such a... what should we call this... unorthodox approach?"

Barry went with the old excuse. "I just know that I'm not the fastest man alive, and I need to be faster, a lot faster, if I'm ever gonna be able to take down the Man in Yellow. So what do you think? Can you help me?"

Wells moved up to the board and grabbed a marker. "Let me see what I can do."

Barry stepped back to allow Wells free reign on the board. He hoped it wouldn't take long. He hated to admit it but Thawne was incredibly intelligent.

"What's going on?" Caitlin asked when she and Belén walked out of the side room.

"Math," Belén answered and rubbed her head, though she winced when she did and so Caitlin pulled her hand. "Whatever, I'm gonna get to work, then."

"I'd rather you didn't," Caitlin walked over to the main desk. "You may have a concussion and I'd rather have you in observation. Besides, I already called in for you," she smiled so innocently that Belén found it impossible to get mad at.

"Fine," Belén raised her hands and simply came to take a seat beside Caitlin.

Barry found it incredibly hard to stay out of conversations he wasn't in need to be at the moment. Timelines and whatnot. It just didn't help that at this point in time Belén was probably feeling guilty - because yes he was remembering it now - about not speaking to his other version and she was throwing occasional glances his way. He suddenly missed his version of a girlfriend.

~ 0 ~

 **Present Day**

Poison Ivy had her arms crossed when her pod's wall slid open for her to see Belén on the other side. "Oh goodie, you're back. Am I to assume Barry's dead now? Is Datura wrecking havoc again?"

"You wish," Belén took pleasure seeing Poison Ivy's face drop with disappointment. "No, your little partner is still tucked away on Earth 2 with no way back."

"You think you're so smart," Poison Ivy remarked.

"Well, science may not be my thing but I am pretty good at other things so...yes."

"In a way, you almost _are_ like Datura."

Belén tried not to look offended because she most certainly _wasn't_ like her doppelganger. Instead, she wanted to follow the plan she made before coming down. "Listen, nobody is going to save Datura unless I tell them it's okay. Right now, I'm the one deciding her fate so you best play your nicest cards here or your friend will be dead."

Poison Ivy suddenly looked at her with a new light, like she was impressed. "Hm, maybe you are kind of like her. Definitely sounded like Datura."

"Her name is Belén. Why don't you call her that?"

Poison Ivy scoffed and planted her hands on either side of the walls. "Because that's not her. On my Earth, Belén Palayta was a scientist with divorced parents, a brother in jail and a cop for a sister who just wouldn't give her some _space_. She was overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated."

"I can believe all that accept the underappreciated part," Belén glowered. "I know family problems as much as the next person but I also know that she was married and that her husband loved her like there was no tomorrow. So you can come at me with all the horrible things she endured but you are not going to tell me that she was underappreciated."

"Look," Poison Ivy didn't look the last bothered, "I personally don't know what that marriage was and I never frankly cared. That's not Datura-"

"-yes it was, it still is...from what I heard." Belén smirked when Poison Ivy rolled her eyes almost like she was jealous. "Because see, at first I thought Datura was pure evil and while I'm still very convinced that's she's evil, I realize that...maybe there's still parts of her that are just like me. The civilian side. Funny how she still carries that one-" Belén raised a finger in the air, "-lone datura flower behind her ear. I heard it's one of the last flowers her husband gave her before she had to run away."

"How did you know that?"

"My Barry heard it from her Barry. So, as far as I can tell, my doppelganger may have not had the best working life nor the family, but she had a good marriage. What turned her to evil?" Poison Ivy crossed her arms, a defiant look on her face indicating she wouldn't be talking for free. Belén laughed, not the least surprised about it. "You're not getting out. And like I said, if you don't talk I won't make a decision about Datura. You do remember she's on a literal clock, right? How much longer does she have?"

"She's not dying," Poison Ivy swore. "She'll come get me and then together we're going to kill you."

"Right, I've heard the story _but_...what if she doesn't? Or, what if it takes too long to open the portals again? By the time she gets here...there might not be enough to fight me."

"What do you want?" Poison Ivy finally snapped in frustration. "You want to chit-chat? Tell me the reasons why I shouldn't try to kill you the first chance I get? Or is this some type of torture?"

Belén drew in a deep breath and walked a couple steps forwards. "I don't like people to die on my watch. Even someone like Datura deserves a hearing, and since I can't reach her...you're the next best thing I have. I want to know _how_ and _why_ she became what she is."

"Oooh, you want to know your doppelganger. Makes sense. But there's not much to tell, least nothing else you don't know."

"There is, I know there is. So let's get started. If I feel generous after this, you might get to choose your lunch today."

~ 0 ~

 **Past, 2014.**

Barry cursed his luck when the metahuman alert went off and prevented Thawne from getting started on the equation promising new speed.

"There's trouble at the CCPD," Caitlin read off the computers and looked up to Barry. "It'd be better if you go. Bells is still under observation."

Barry looked from Caitlin to the clear board, completely torn. "I'm sure they have it handled, right?"

Confusion dropped on Caitlin's face but what Thawne had was suspicion. " _No_ ," he said rather sharply. "You need to go. Run, Barry."

And because he had no option, Barry ran.

The station was being, indeed, attacked, but not by a metahuman...it was the same creature that had disoriented Barry on his way to the past. That wasn't what really got him, though, it was the fact he saw Eddie Thawne living and walking. Yes, of course it was obvious that being back in this point of time meant Eddie was living but Barry hadn't really thought about it until then.

~ 0 ~

Since the creature - that had still yet to be named - had sprouted in Barry's lab at the station, it was the prime area for investigation. It left a whole mess of destruction that no corner of the room escaped.

"There's no sign of it outside," Eddie came in and was oblivious to the stares Barry sneaked every now and then. "It just disappeared. Hey, Bar, any idea what that thing could be?"

At least there Barry couldn't lie. He really didn't know what that creature was and why it was coming after him, because he was sure the creature had been looking for him. "No, I don't know. Not yet. If I figure it out I'll let you know."

Eddie glumly looked around the room. "Things just keep getting more and more strange in this city. I'm gonna check in with Iris, let her know I'm okay."

"Great," and Barry quickly turned away before Eddie realized he'd been staring too long.

"Oh, sorry Belén!" Eddie's exclaim made Barry whirl around to see Eddie stepping back from Belén after presumably crashing into her. "I was on my way to see Iris-"

Belén had a cheery smile on that could have fooled anyone, including the Barry from that point of time, who didn't know about her predicament. "Don't worry about it, Eddie. I get it. Excited to talk to the girlfriend. Oh!" her two index fingers rose in the air when she remembered. "Um, actually, she's probably going to be really happy since I just got her into CC Picture News!"

"I have to go congratulate her!" Eddie laughed and hurried out of the lab.

Belén's cheeriness faded the further she got into the lab. "Wow, this place is just…"

"Mhm," Joe started to move around to leave as well. "Thank God I won't have to clean it up." He shot Barry a big smile that the speedster did not return.

"I mean totally...nice...looking…" Belén cleared her throat awkwardly when Joe finally left. "Cisco's calling the creature, um...Dementors?" she shook her head. "In my opinion, I think those are actually way creepier and scarier - though I guess I can't really say that since I haven't seen these creatures yet-"

"And you won't," Barry blurted quite determinedly, startling her. He put down the broken microscope on the table nearest to him and tried amending his statement so that it wouldn't make her uncomfortable. "I mean, we'll probably find it and stop it before it could hurt you or the others, you know...since Cait said you should be taking it easier right now."

Belén's hand touched her temple where she apparently was handling head injuries from Hartley's blow earlier in the day. "Honestly, I think Caitlin is overreacting. But, um...well, I'm glad you're talking to me again...even though I know I don't deserve it."

Barry quickly tried to remember how it was he acted in the last version of that day. Snarky. That was what came to mind. "Uuh…"

"I know I've been very, um, radical and...well, plain rude to you ever since Captain Cold attacked but I'd like to explain why…"

"Bells, we should do this later." Because as much as he would have liked to help relieve her guilt, Barry had to stop her because she was about to do it with the wrong him. If she confessed the reasons for her distance to him instead of his other version, then that Barry would never hear it and would continue to distance himself from Belén as well. All distance and no apologies meant no dating.

Barry wouldn't let that happen.

"I mean, there's a lot of things I need to do here…" he gestured to the room languidly. "...and then there's the creature on the loose...and…"

"I know," Belén nervously passed a hand through her hair. "Believe me, I know how bad of a time this is. I shouldn't have taken this long to apologize and explain. You probably don't even want to talk to me and-"

"It's not that, I promise!" Barry quickly cut her off.

"You can tell me the truth, Barry, I deserve it…"

"I swear we can talk and we will," Barry walked up to her and was cautious not to take her hand as he probably would have done out of custom. She would definitely be freaked out if he did that now. "But I think it would be better if we did that when there wasn't a creature after us. It'd be calm and a perfect time to talk, yeah?"

Belén stared him directly in the eyes for a full minute of silence. "You're not lying?" she asked in such a soft voice Barry felt she was practically begging to be hugged and kissed.

"No, I'm not."

"Okay," Belén lightly smiled. "Thank you." She stepped back from him and looked around. "I'm with Joe in that I'm happy I don't have to clean this place up."

"Ha, ha," Barry watched as she backtracked.

"Oh, you just have to speed around and that'll be it. Quit acting so offended," Belén turned to leave, but stopped just under the threshold to glance back. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah," Barry smiled and nodded his head. _The other me better thank me for this_ , he thought. He just got themselves a girlfriend.

~ 0 ~

When Barry returned to STAR Labs, he found Caitlin and Cisco dead set in work on the computers. Wells was situated between the two, staring endlessly at Barry.

"What's going on?" Barry took off his jacket and left it on a nearby chair.

"Oh, you know, just trying to figure out how to find this Dementor that's apparently roaming through Central City right now," Cisco huffed and switched tabs to begin a new search.

"I assume that was the cause of the CCPD alarm," Wells remarked, hand on chin.

"Yeah, actually, it attacked my lab."

Caitlin looked up from her computer with widened eyes. "You saw it?"

"No, I didn't see it, no. I di... um…" Barry knew he was messing up there, "Well, I didn't get there in time, but I have seen it before."

Wells dropped his hand to his lap and tilted his head. "Where?"

My God it was like he was asking to be caught. Barry inwardly groaned. He'd seen plenty of movies where the main character traveled back in time and acted cool about it. Why could he do the same!? "It was earlier today, actually, when I was running to take Hartley down."

"And you're just now mentioning this?"

"I... I didn't know what it was. I thought it was some sort of illusion. I don't know!"

"Okay," Caitlin slowly returned to her own work, "Well, we need to find it before it hurts somebody."

"Can you track it?" Barry directly asked Cisco, for a moment forgetting this Cisco hadn't yet learned he could 'vibe'.

"What is with you guys!?" went Cisco, raising his hands in frustration. "It's like you think I have ESP or something. I can't just magically sense where things are."

"What can you do, Cisco?" Wells calmly asked beside him.

Cisco calmed before he answered. "I'm thinking I can reconfigure the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to look for it. Um, it might take some time though."

"Alright, in the meantime, Mr. Allen, come with me," Wells motioned Barry to follow. Thinking he had finally cracked the equation for him, Barry happily followed Wells into his office.

"So, you figured the speed equation out?" Barry asked after taking a seat.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Wells went behind Barry's chair.

"Oh, great," Barry could feel a part of him begin to relax. He would be going home real soon then. "You figured it out!"

Wells suddenly got up from his wheelchair and swung his fist at Barry's head, knocking the speedster out. "I've figured it all out."

~ 0 ~

The next time Barry woke up he found himself in Thawne's secret room, cuffed to Thawne's wheelchair with some sort of high-tech in them. He was startled to find Thawne sitting directly across him on a chair, staring at him.

"Now, who are you?" Thawne didn't waste a moment with him. "I mean, who are you really?"

Barry cleared his throat. "Dr. Wells, what are you doing?"

Thawne leaned forwards on his chair, hands together and against his nose. "None of it adds up. The interference with the comms, the speed equation, the Time Wraith." He could see the glint of realization in Barry's eyes at the new name and smiled. "That's what we call them. Time Wraiths. Scary, aren't they? I thought, 'Oh, no, a Time Wraith has found me.' But then I thought, "No, no, no." You know what you're doing. Now, the Time Wraith is after someone who's traveled through time... and doesn't know what they're doing."

Barry could feel his heart racing and not in a good way. "Dr. Wells, c'mon," he released a small laugh. "It's me. It's... it's Barry. I don't... Really?"

Wells began to sarcastically clap for him. "You are good. You are good, and I would believe you, except that…" and he suddenly sped up to Barry waiting for a reaction that never came. Barry had glared straight away. "Nothing. I move like this, you barely flinch. You know who I am. Don't you?" Barry decided he was not going to sit there and let the man keep going at whatever game he'd invented. He tried vibrating through the cuffs around his wrist but failed. Thawne observed the action with a bit of disappointment. "And you're from the future. Do you know how I know that? Because I haven't taught my Barry Allen how to phase through objects... yet"

"Let me out here, Thawne," Barry ordered.

"I know," Thawne sighed. "You're upset. But it does me good to hear that name again. Now, onto the bigger question. Why are you here?"

Barry went with the truth since there was nothing else to lose now. "Because I want to go faster, and you're the only one who can teach me. You're the only one who's figured out the equation. The Speed Force. You've manipulated it. How did you do that?"

But Thawne was scowling. He turned away from Barry and began to make his own conclusions. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. You'd only come here if something went wrong. If you're still alive, then that means... I haven't beaten you. If you're still alive... that means my plan fails!" He threw the chair in the room against the wall and turned on Barry. "And if my plan fails, I don't get to go home, and if that's the case, well, then…"

Barry panicked when Thawne raised a threatening, vibrating hand. "No, no, no! Hey, hey, hey! It's the opposite! It's the opposite!" he shouted desperately. "It... you trick me. You harness my speed. We turn on the accelerator to create a path for you to go home. I go back in time. You go back to yours. You won."

Thawne kept his vibrating hand in the air and stared at Barry for what the speedster considered was the longest minute ever. "Then why are you here? Why are you here now?"

"Because when I got back, a singularity had formed!" Barry quickly supplied. "And now the only way for me to learn how to get faster and stop the singularity from happening was to come here."

"Well, that's good to know. There's just… Just one thing that occurs to me. I don't need you. Do I?" Thawne smirked. "Not this you certainly. Oops," he sarcastically laughed. "You probably should've thought of that before you came back here. Shame...You ran all the way back here just to die."

Barry didn't flinch under the new threat because that one was easy to excuse. "You kill me... Barry... this Barry, your Barry, he learns it all. There's a hidden letter telling him how it ends, how to beat you, everything. Anything happens to me, you never make it back home. Go on. Kill me, Thawne. See how this all ends." But of course Thawne didn't move now that he knew what was at stake. "Now, you're gonna help me get faster."

 **~ 0 ~**

 **Present day.**

"So you're saying that the Belén of your world-"

"Her name's Datura," Poison Ivy left that dead clear for Belén to understand.

"So anyways, she was a scientist at Mercury Labs who was accidentally turned into a metahuman - although one could argue that her Barry was actually responsible for creating 'Datura' - and because she was unable to control her powers she faked her own death. I got that. One thing I'm just curious about is how Datura got the siphoning ability? Technically speaking, she should've only had the Datura powers just like I have my Azalea powers."

Poison Ivy gave a shrug of her shoulders, just as lost as Belén was. "She was working on an experiment that, if successful, would have absorbed energy but that was it. It must have mixed with the daturas she had there and altered her DNA."

"It's made her unstable," Belén did feel a bit sympathy for the woman in that part. She remembered Bette Sans Succi who couldn't touch anything and how frustrated Bette was because of it. It can't be easy and it does, eventually, take a toll on someone. "And that's why she turned evil?"

Poison Ivy laughed at such a juvenile thought. "She didn't _turn_ evil. She always had that darkness. Her civilian life never called for it but it was always there, sitting and waiting for the day it could come out."

"Yeah...so when did that day come?" Belén asked, making her tone sound as straight as possible. She wasn't intending on letting Poison Ivy start taunting her that the same darkness Datura let out was also inside her.

"In the beginning, she wanted to test her siphoning abilities out," Poison Ivy lightly smirked. "That's how we met, actually. She'd accidentally killed some pesky gardener on my hit list. Datura thought that perhaps going to the same person who'd sold her Barry the 2 daturas might have more. She wanted to go back to the basics, but things got out of hand when he realized that Datura was supposed to be dead and before Datura knew it, her hand had touched the man. He shriveled in 10 seconds flat. I was _impressed_."

Belén was disgusted and she let it be known. "She killed a man! That's terrible!"

"He had it coming," snapped Poison Ivy. "He was arguing with Datura and she lost it. I showed up just before it happened. One way or another, that man was going to die...Datura just beat me to it. She was so scared, poor thing..." Poison Ivy laughed as she thought back to that day. "She looked like a scared child. I had to tell her that it was fine, it was okay. She did what she had to. That man had threatened to expose the fact she was still alive. I made her see that it was all okay. I was the one who took her to her first metahuman victim."

"Oh what a great friend you were," Belén sarcastically said, feeling a rage start in the pit of her stomach. Up until now, it sounded like Poison Ivy was responsible for creating the terrible metahuman that was Datura.

"I was," Poison Ivy glared. It sounded like she was truly offended that Belén would think otherwise. "I've been Datura's partner, best friend, you name it, for a long time now! She doesn't have to hide with me. I taught her how to harness her datura abilities and she's learned how to siphon people. Up until now, she hasn't found anything she can't siphon. The only downside is that side-effect she gets each time she siphons someone. She takes their powers but also a part of them."

"Wait..." Belén blinked, "You mean that thing with the overlapping voices? What is that!? It's so creepy!"

"Well, we're not entirely sure about that but we have hunches. Somewhere along the siphoning process, she ends up siphoning a bit of the victim. A bit a of their conscious being ends up embedded in her and, when she uses their power, that victim's personality briefly appears."

"My God no wonder she's a psychopath," Belén's eyes had widened in horror. "There must be dozens of voices in her head." Poison Ivy raised her head but no longer looked at Belén. "She's not right in the head because she's got all these different people living in her like...like echos. Why doesn't she just stop, then? It's clear that the more she siphons, the crazier and weaker she's going to get. That's how she became sick, right?"

"Because she likes it," Poison Ivy groaned. "Why is that so hard to understand!?"

"Because I don't believe it! So far, it seems like _you_ made her what she is! When's the last time her head has been cleared!? When's the last time she's been on her own, without you and those voices telling her what to do? Last time I heard, she started making better choices when she had husband in front of her. She _is_ capable of doing good."

"She is," Poison Ivy surprisingly agreed, making Belén pause for a second. "She's capable of anything. I don't control that and neither does her husband."

"...you're right," Belén said quietly after carefully reviewing what she'd learned so far. "Nobody can control her, but it's clear that environmental changes do have an affect on her. She's evil, no doubt about that, but deep down...she's fundamentally the same as me and any other doppelgangers we have out there. She gets scared easily, she sneaky, sarcastic, she loves Barry Allen and their family. Barry told me that he found objects in your greenhouse that belonged to Earth 2 Maritza, Rayan and their parents."

"She. Is. Datura," Poison Ivy enunciated each word slowly before slamming a fist against the pod's wall.

"She is," Belén agreed. "But I wonder what she'd be if she didn't have all those voices rocking about in her head. Who would she be if she was no longer scared of her powers and actually had some control over them? I'm kind of curious..."

"She'll always be Datura!"

"Yeah, she might be..." Belén started drifting towards the pipeline's controls, "She could very well be the same...but I'd like to see it. See what happens, you know. I'll let you know how that goes." She winked at Poison Ivy who couldn't look more furious.

"You won't change her!"

"I'm not going to," Belén left it clear just as her fingers found the prison pod controls. "I won't make her be anybody she's not. I'm just going to..." A clean smile spread across her face, "...take something out of the equation. Bye!" She jammed a hand against the buttons and waved at a screaming Poison Ivy.

~ 0 ~

 **Past, 2014.**

Barry was waiting for Thawne to finally make his decision and let him go once and for all. But then they began to hear shouting from outside. And screeches. There were definitely screeches out there. Thawne quickly pulled up the security camera feed to showing multiple footage of the building. In one screen was Caitlin running towards the pipeline with a Time Wraith hot on her trail.

"We need to help them," Barry tried getting up but fell right back down since he was still cuffed.

Cisco had sealed himself and Caitlin inside Hartley's prison pod but the Time Wraith was still pounding, and by the looks of it cracking the wall of the pod.

"Get me out of here, c'mon!" Barry shouted at Thawne since the man hadn't moved yet.

"If that thing comes after me and messes with my plans, you're all dead!" Thawne warned as he moved over.

Barry stared at the screens and panicked even worse when he saw Belén coming out of the elevator. "Oh n-n-n-no. Hurry up!" he frantically pulled on the cuffs. He might just speed out of there with it.

~ 0 ~

"Yes, Maritza, I'll text you if I'm coming home for dinner or not," Belén was in the middle of a phone conversation with her sister when she exited the elevator. "Yeah, actually, I don't know if I'm gonna be late…" She planned on finally talking with Barry and hoping for a good resolution. "I might be...if I'm lucky…"

But then the Time Wraith's screeches made her lower her phone for a moment. There was definitely something there.

"Mar, I'll call you back," she said goodbye to Maritza and hung up. She dropped her phone in her purse and walked forwards. "Caitlin? Cisco?" she began to call out, and loudly unfortunate. "Dr. Wells?"

The screeching grew louder as the Time Wraith rushed towards her. She dropped her purse when she finally saw the Time Wraith at the other end of the hallway. Her scream was inevitable. Green patches sprouted on her hands when she raised her arms over her head. Thankfully, her scientist friends had Hartley's gauntlets in the pipeline, giving Hartley the tools to release a destructive signal on the same frequency as the Time Wraith. A reverberating, ear-splitting screech blasted throughout the entire building with so much force that it threw Belén back against the elevator doors. The noise was, however, successful in forcing the Time Wraith to retreat and leave the building.

While Thawne went to release Caitlin and Cisco from the pipeline, Barry sped to the entrance to find Belén.

"Bells!" he found her trying to sit up and failing.

"My head…" the woman groaned. She rubbed the side of her head, letting Barry see the familiar random green patch of skin on the back of her hand. This was still the period in which Belén hid the other side of her powers from everyone.

"Bells, let me help you," Barry didn't necessarily wait for her to agree. He scooped her up into his arms and headed for the cortex. Caitlin would have to give her another check up.

"Was that...the Dementor?"

"Uh, yeah…" Barry was careful as he laid her down on a bed. She winced when her head touched the pillow, prompting Barry to give an apology.

"I stand corrected. It's a lot scarier than what the movies show," Belén said with a small smile.

"Bells…" Barry tried not laugh because this was a serious moment. She was hurt and needed to be looked at...but she was also pretty funny.

"Hey, what's going on?" Cisco called when he, Caitlin and Thawne walked into the cortex.

Barry quickly came out of the side room and motioned for Caitlin to go in. "Bells was hurt by whatever you guys did…"

"Hartley used the gauntlets to get the creature to leave for now," Cisco waved Hartley's gauntlets in his hands.

"You should check if the thing's still here, though," Barry suggested. Cisco hummed in agreement and hurried back to the computers.

Thawne gave deep stare at Barry, probably blaming him for all this. The bad thing was that this time Thawne was right. The Time Wraith had come back for him and nearly hurt his friends because of it.

~ 0 ~

 **Present Day.**

"So...that's it, you're going to cure Datura?" Shivhan seemed outraged at the news but at the same time she was hopeful that she'd heard wrong. She looked at Caitlin and Cisco in the cortex for their input. "Well? Did you hear her!?"

"Not much we can say at this point," Cisco shrugged his shoulders.

"Except maybe...you're crazy!?" Shivhan exclaimed, though it was nothing that Belén hadn't prepared for.

"Am not," the ombre-blonde waved her off. "I just want to see what happens if we do cure her. Everything that Poison Ivy told me...it made it sound like after Datura got her powers, she never had a moment of clarity."

"It _must_ be difficult thinking clearly if she has dozens of voices in her head," Caitlin remarked but as soon as she did, Shivhan threw her a glare. "Sorry."

"No!" Belén moved to Caitlin's side of the desk. "Because that's exactly what I thought too. I'm not saying that I expect Datura to be a better person afterwards. I'm not expecting anything. I just want to _see_ what happens to her. What happens when we remove all the voices and give her control over her powers? If she goes back to being herself...then it proves that it was just the powers making her evil."

"And if not?" Shivhan crossed her arms and fixated a hard-eyed stare on Belén, almost assuming that if they got the worst side of Datura then Belén would lose it.

"Then we lock her ass up in the pipeline for good," Belén said without any hint of hesitation.

"So you would leave her alone if she turned good again?" Cisco genuinely wondered.

"I don't know," Belén admitted. "I mean...if we get that lucky, then I think we'll figure something out at that point but right now this is my choice. I want to try and cure her. But I also want to make it clear-" she pointed a finger at Shivhan, "-that I am _not_ expecting for Datura to change her ways. I'm giving her a path like Poison Ivy did, and if she makes the wrong one that's on her. I'm not going to lament the fact my doppelganger is evil."

"I think that's very noble of of you to decide this, Belén," Caitlin offered Belén her supportive smile. It couldn't have been easy choosing to help a woman who's been hurting them nonstop all year. "Anything you need from me, I'm here."

"You know I already had work set up so..." Cisco trailed off, leaving his side clear.

"Shivhan?" Belén waited for the woman's input. "You've helped me a lot...will you do it one more time?"

Shivhan rolled her eyes. "Gah, you know I will. I just won't be happy about it. Seriously, if it was me, I'd leave that woman to die. The only thing I'd be doing is finding her a good cremation box."

Belén chuckled. "Oh Shivhan."

~ 0 ~

 **Past, 2014.**

"Just...try to take it easy…" Caitlin walked cautiously with Belén out from the side room. Belén refused to stay in bed any longer despite still feeling woozy from the second blow of the day.

"Relax, Caitlin, I doubt that thing will come back right now... I hope…" Belén couldn't continue with this streak of bad luck any longer.

Caitlin walked her to where Cisco and Thawne were working on Hartley's gauntlets. "How's it going?" Caitlin asked.

Cisco grumbled, apparently the answer being not good. Belén leaned against the threshold, still rubbing the side of her head. "Why don't you just ask Hartley? _He_ was the one who created them after all."

"It's what I said too," Cisco threw a look over to Thawne.

"Fine," went the man. "See if he can help, but he stays in the cell."

"But then what? That thing's gonna come back-"

"Don't argue," Caitlin tried to say when Barry - or at least _a_ Barry - sped into the room looking frantic as ever.

"Where is he? Where's the other Flash!?" his eyes scanned the entire room but found only his confused friends staring at him.

Confusion grew even more when the future Barry appeared behind. "I'm right here."

The younger Barry quickly turned on him, suspicious yet fearful another syringe might be injected in him again.

"Cait, maybe I _do_ I need to go lie down. I'm seeing two Barry's," Belén shook her head fervently as if that would make one Barry disappear.

Caitlin put a hand on Belén's arm to stop her from shaking her head. "No, they're real."

"Okay, so then who are you?" Belén made a gesture to the younger Barry. "You just pop in out of nowhere - _speed_ in or whatever-"

"Bells!" he exclaimed and cut her off. "I'm Barry!" he gestured to himself. "I'm Barry. Your Barry!"

Cisco raised his fingers at the two speedsters, being the first one to get what was happening. "He's...your...doppelganger…?"

"No, not yet," went the future-Barry with a shrug before glancing at his younger version. "I am you, Barry. Just...different."

"Wait a second, how do we know which one's the real Barry?" challenged Cisco.

"Oh, that's good, make them answer a lot of questions," Belén smiled to herself. "That's always funny in the movies…"

Young Barry was not amused by her antics. He was already upset with her because she'd been ignoring him. "It's not funny!" he snapped at her. She scowled in return.

"Okay, guys-" went the future-Barry in an effort to stop a new argument between them, "-I'm sorry. This was not supposed to happen. The tranq dart that Caitlin made was supposed to last a lot longer-"

At the accusation Caitlin raised her hands in defense. "I did _not_ give him a tranq dart!"

Thawne kept making gestures for the future-Barry to understand but was being plainly ignored.

"Okay, no, yes, not you, the you from the time that I am from," Barry was trying to clarify that he was talking about the version of Caitlin he knew.

"The time that you are from?" the younger Barry repeated, confused.

"I think what he's trying to say is he's from the future," Thawne finally just cut in.

"The future?" young-Barry continued to ask.

"Yeah."

A new gleeful glint crossed young-Barry's face as he realized. "Are we saying I can time-travel?"

"One day," his older version promised.

"Well that is just unfair," Belén crossed her arms and sighed.

"Oh, that explains the white on the symbol," Cisco pointed at the white emblem sitting on young-Barry's chest. "Well, wait a second. Suppose we now change your emblem. Will it be because we got the idea from this? Or, I mean, that would mean…"

"Stop talking," Thawne ordered. "You stop talking too, all right?" he warned the future Barry. "More you say, the more the timeline is disrupted. Now I'm going to assume that your presence here is the reason that thing is attacking us."

"What? What thing?" young-Barry quickly asked.

"A Dementor," answered Belén with a sway of her feet.

"Is she on meds…?" young-Barry directed his question to Caitlin. "Or…?"

"I hit my head twice, alright? Leave me alone!"

"Oh, yeah, that's what you've been making sure I do lately!"

"That's why I was trying to apologize and - _oooh_ …" Belén trailed off and gazed over to the future-Barry who was already apologetically smiling at her. "Now that makes sense." He didn't want her apologizing to him because she wouldn't be apologizing to the right version! Smart!

"What does?" demanded the younger Barry.

"Doesn't matter. Right now I say we focus on the Dementor…"

"Time Wraith," corrected future-Barry.

"For your safety, don't help."

"And how do we do that exactly?" asked Caitlin.

"We don't know yet," Thawne said with regret.

"So then what are we gonna do?"

Thawne met a look with future-Barry. "The one thing we can."

~ 0 ~

"What do you think Wells is giving the future Barry?" Cisco came back to the cortex after peering out into the hallway for the third time.

"Who cares," the young Barry sat the white emblem belonging to his older version down on the desk. "He can take that and I want _mine_ back."

"Is this a case of boys and their toys?" asked Belén curiously.

Barry shook his head and tried to be rational about this. But then again an older version of him had fought him, injected him with a tranq dart and taken his place for most of the day so maybe being rational wasn't exactly his strongest point yet. He directed an accusing hand at Belén and turned on her. "Okay, you are confusing-"

"And you are extra cranky."

"I don't think you should be pushing it, honestly. You've been ignoring me ever since we fought Snart and Rory!"

"Well, I was going to tell you but then I learned that the you I was going to tell wasn't actually you because he was from the future!"

"I was here and even _I'm_ confused," Cisco mumbled to Caitlin from their chairs.

"Imagine me," Barry snapped and briefly glared at Belén.

"Barry, I'm sorry," she tried to apologize there and then since he was only getting more upset with her. She knew she deserve it but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

"Yeah," he scoffed instead.

Belén sighed and, dejectedly, glanced Caitlin and Cisco. "I deserve it, I know."

"It's not that you deserve anything it's just...I'm frustrated," Barry crossed his arms, scowling at her.

"I know. And you have every right to be, I swear. You can be mad and I won't be upset cos I know it's my fault."

"Bells, it's not," the older Barry said as he and Thawne returned. He cast a deep glare at his younger version, warning him to stop right there. "So quit making her feel like it or you and I are going to argue right now too." His words surprised everyone but he didn't care. This argument was pointless now that he thought about it. Belén made a decision between Rayan and him and she chose him thinking about the greater good. Rayan wasn't playing fair and Belén only chose thinking about the city. That wasn't her fault. It was just who she was. He would he damned if anyone, even another version of himself, made her feel bad about herself.

"Okay, our satellite has finally found our floating friend and it's coming back," Caitlin announced with a clearing of her throat. She, like the others, were looking from one Barry to the other, wondering if they would actually fight.

"You need to go," Thawne pointed at the future Barry. "Now."

"I need to know how to stop it," he told the others. "Not now. When I get back. You guys have a year to figure it out."

Cisco nodded. "Okay. We'll figure something out."

"Cisco, come here," Barry pulled Cisco to the side for a moment. "Hartley knows where Ronnie is."

"Okay?" Cisco said before his words truly registered. "Wait, what?"

"It's coming!" Caitlin went again.

"You need to leave now!" Thawne more urgently told Barry.

"Yeah, okay," Barry went over to the desk to retrieve his rightful emblem. His younger version cleared his throat and held out his hand to get his own emblem back. "Sorry," future Barry said as he handed the old emblem back.

"Thank you," young Barry strapped the emblem back on his suit.

"And listen," future Barry spoke in a hushed tone, "This argument with Bells? Not worth it. _Trust_ me. Just listen to her, please. For both our sake's." His younger version seemed to listen this time so Barry could leave feeling at peace. Of course, before he truly left, he had to stop by Belén first.

She was already smiling when he came up to her. "Thanks for backing me up."

"Always," he said earnestly. "And just so you know, your choice meant a lot to me." He leaned closer and whispered so that only she would hear. " _Thank you_."

Whether she wanted to or not, she blushed. She waved him goodbye with a languid hand until she noticed everyone else's look on her, including their version of Barry.

"What he say?" he asked her curiously. Her smile was a bit funny.

"Nothing," she cleared her throat and moved a few steps away.

Future Barry had gone down into the pipeline and followed the same instructions he'd done to get there in the first place. He ran as fast as he could in a constant circle and just like before, the Time Wraith swooped down and started chasing him.

"It's not working. It's slowing him down," Caitlin told the others as they watched from the monitors.

"So what do we do?" Belén frowned. "Can we help him?"

"I can," answered their Barry before speeding away despite Wells calling him not to.

He rushed into the pipeline and waited for his older version to pass by and when the Time Wraith came next, he launched a foot straight at it. The Time Wraith went flying backwards, giving future Barry the precise gap and speed to go into a time portal. The Time Wraith went after a minute later.

"Cool," young Barry breathed in with a laugh. He couldn't wait to be able to do that one day. For now, he would just focus on what he had in front of him. He brought a hand to the comm. in his ear. "Bells?"

"...yeah?" came the unsure voice from the cortex.

"Let's talk." And even though Barry couldn't see her at the moment, he knew she was smiling just like he was.

~ 0 ~

Getting back to the present day, Barry came through the portal only a couple hours after he had left. He also came to the mighty surprise of finding a reformed Hartley Rathaway helping them and even creating the gauntlet device that permanently destroyed the Time Wraith. It was nice knowing that he managed to do a little good along the way.

It was even better to know that the trip was successful in that Thawne had kept his word and gave Barry the keys to new speed. With all this, he happily went to find his girlfriend - the version he would be able to kiss now - in the building. She was fixing things in her greenhouse but as soon as she saw him, she dropped everything to greet him. Turns out that they both had some news for each other.

"Seems like we both found what we needed," she concluded. "You got your speed equation solved and...I decided to try and cure a psycopath. Not the same but, still...yay?"

Barry chuckled at her. "It's a semi-win. So then...you sure this is what you want?"

"Mhm," Belén nodded her head. "After listening to Poison Ivy I wondered what I would be like if I had all those voices in my head. It's not personality disorder, it's a serious side effect that her own powers are creating. I bet Datura hasn't had a quiet mind in a very long time. I don't know if it'll cure her mentally but I can at least say that I tried to help."

"Okay," Barry smiled at her. "Let's try."

"Right. And you got your speed problem solved, right?"

"Oh yeah! We're going to be looking over everything Thawne gave me," Barry was anxious at what exactly the USB contained. He only skimmed a bit of it earlier with the others but once they were all together, they would start working on it.

"Hey! There you are!" Iris suddenly popped into the room with her laptop bag slung around her shoulder. She came into the room in a hasty run. "I've been looking for you, Belén!"

"Why? What is it?" Belén watched her pull her laptop out of her bag. She let the bag fall to the floor while she opened her laptop up. "Iris? You okay?"

"I am and after you see all this, you will be too!" Iris turned her laptop around so that Belén could see the screen.

Belén leaned closer but all she saw was her article. "I'm confused. I know I wrote this. I was there."

Iris rolled her eyes. "No, no! Look at the comments! The responses!"

Belén took the laptop into her arms and scrolled down to the end of the article where all the responses would be. "Wow, okay...there's more now."

"Try hundreds! Yesterday you had about a hundred. It _spiked_ between then and now! There's a total of 800 and who knows how much there'll be by tomorrow!"

"That's good right?" Barry looked between the two reporters with his own growing smile.

"Yes!" Iris laughed. "For a freelance article like this...it's _really_ good."

"It's doing good for people," Belén whispered, as if it was just now donning on her. She was trying to read as many as comments as possible and despite there being a few bad apples, there were plenty of people thanking her for writing the article. Others showed their support to any botanical meta that might need shelter or food or anything else while they were in hiding. "It's like a community is starting there..."

"Yeah, a community _you_ started," Barry said to her. He kissed her temple and started reading a few comments as she kept scrolling. "If any metahuman sees this, they'll know about the Green. It's exactly what you wanted."

"Yeah, it is," Belén bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. It was just too surreal that her article was actually _working_. It truly made her suspension all the more worth it.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Soooo our dear Belén has decided to help Datura out. And she's made it very clear that she's not expecting for the doppelganger to change but she'll at least try to give Datura a start. What do you think will happen with that?

And next chapter is one of my favorites! Just like my second Arrowverse OC was introduced here (in Chapter 9 and 10: New Path / A Jinx's Path), my THIRD OC will be introduced in the next chapter! I've been dying to debut her ever since I published Graciela's chapter! If any of you follow me on Tumblr, you know that this third OC will be part of Supergirl's world and her name is Anais. I really hope you guys like her!

 **P. S:** As always, check out my tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! My URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	25. Anais

**Author's Note:** This chapter introduces a new Arrowverse OC I'm currently drafting. If some of you follow my Tumblr account then you can probably guess which OC it is.

The pronunciation of her name is: _'Ah-na-EESE'_

* * *

"Okay, you guys. I'm here. You got my location?" Barry leaned a hand against the Keystone city limit poster and waited for the others to get back to him.

"You're good? You don't need to, like, stretch or something?" Cisco soon replied over the comms.

"No, no, no, I'm good, I'm good," Barry prepared himself for the first testing of his new speed device. He was finally going to able to test-drive it after dozens and dozens of trials in STAR Labs.

"Let's take this tachyon enhancer out for a test drive!"

Barry strapped on the new tachyon device to his chest and did a couple hops in place as the device whirred alive. A blue glow emitted from its corners, and Barry soon felt a rush of energy. "Hoo, yeah. I feel that."

"That is the tachyon device powering up the Speed Force in your cells like a quick charge battery," Caitlin remarked. "How do you feel?"

"Different," Barry admitted, but a good different.

"Please don't disappear into nothing like Eliza," came Belén's precautionary voice a second later. She stood in a Central City street that Barry would stop at the end of his trial run. She was in her civilian form, not wanting to take the Azalea out for this run. She just wanted to be outside and closer to Barry during his 'big moment'. He hadn't stopped talking about it ever since Harry implied they were getting closer to taking the tachyon device out for a test.

Barry laughed for a moment. "Promise I won't do that. This is free energy after all."

"Yeah, created by Thawne let's not forget."

"And double checked by our not evil Harry," Cisco reminded. "But alright! Let's see how long it takes you to get back here. On my count. Three, two, one-"

"GO!" Belén cut in to finish it, laughing when Cisco yelled at her for cutting his moment short. "My boyfriend, my countdown," she said as her only argument.

Barry ran as fast as he normally would but after only a few seconds, he could feel the new speed energy coursing through his body, pushing his legs to go faster. Everything around him because blurry faster than previous times. He almost felt like a breeze.

"Is it working!?" Belén eagerly awaited for either Cisco or Caitlin to answer her with a 'yes'. She anxiously waited to see Barry arrive at the stopping point.

"Oh, it's working! It's got him _cruising_!" Cisco said in true awe.

"And his vitals are doing perfectly fine," Caitlin added to their triumphs.

"Guys, I can go _faster_ ," Barry communicated through. He was just entering Central City but he knew that the energy building up inside him wanted to push for more.

"Do it," Belén encouraged him, anticipation behind those words.

"Your wish is my command!" he replied and heard her laughter. He fueled up and pushed for more speed.

Belén skidded to the very edge of the sidewalk. She could see the wind picking up from a good distance. But just as he was supposed to stop where they planned, a bright blue portal swirled into existence. "Wait a minute!"

Barry didn't even notice the portal - he was going incredibly fast. He zipped right _into_ it.

"Barry!" Belén called as the only trace of him left was the trail of wind that pushed her hair back.

"Belén? What happened?" Caitlin asked, concern filling her voice in seconds once they realized Barry had disappeared out of nowhere.

"He's just...there was a portal..." Belén's eyes had glued to the spot where the portal had been seconds ago. "Like the...like the one you used to get into Earth 2..."

"Where's Barry?" Cisco quickly asked.

"I don't know. He's just...gone..."

~ 0 ~

Barry never noticed he'd crossed worlds. All he knew was that he was in a street, about to stop where Belén was waiting for him, until he heard the shattering of glass and a woman falling down a 20 something story building. He charged on for the building and caught the woman in his arms then tried to stop himself altogether. With his new speed, he might have to go back to basics for a while.

As he sped away from the site, he missed an average height blonde woman hovering in the air just above the building. "Kara!" she scratched her head in utter confusion. "What?"

Barry was able to stop himself in the outskirts of the city and finally let go of the woman who was wide awake...and on _fire_. "Oh!" he went to help her when he remembered how that had ended with Felicity. He pulled his hands away and instead searched for some water to bring, but then he noticed that the woman, a blonde with glasses, was staring at their new environment. "You don't seem that bothered by the fact that you're on fire."

She looked down at herself and saw her shirt was billowing flames. She gave it a careless pat and turned to him, rather confused with his presence. "I didn't need you to save me." Even her words seemed distracted.

Barry didn't know how to react so instead a small chuckle escaped his lips. "You just fell from a skyscraper. So if I hadn't been there, you would have gone splat."

The woman wasn't quite listening. Her mind was somewhere else, at her job, where she was sure that other people were going crazy trying to find her body. It would definitely give the culprit of her fall the chance to escape. "I have to get back to the city." She literally jumped into the air, leaving behind her clothes.

Barry gawked as the woman _flew_ into the air. Was she like Nina? Either way, he would find out. He sped after her, keeping up with her pace, and soon caught her eyes. She came to an abrupt stop in the air and slowly hovered down so that they were once again face to face.

"How did you do that?" Barry asked her slowly. He needed to be cautious with her until he knew she wasn't a threat. "You're a meta too?"

The blonde still looked lost as ever, though. "I'm Supergirl," she said in a manner that seemed like it should be enough explanation. It would have been if Barry was actually part of _her_ world.

"You're who now?" Barry looked the woman over, still unsure of how she had changed from day clothes to a...costume? Now he was sure that he'd never seen her nor heard about her. He would remember - or at least Cisco would remember - her blue and red-skirt costume with the odd 'S' symbol on her chest.

"How did you save me?" Supergirl inquired.

"Well I... Y... You fell out a window and I... I caught you and... ran you... all the way out here-" Barry realized they were practically in the middle of nowhere, "-which I did _not_ mean to do but I've been working on my speed and...guess I'm faster than I thought."

"Clearly," Supergirl admitted. "But who _are_ you?" Like Barry, she was studying his suit and, just as he had, she concluded that she'd never seen him. But then her eyes widened and narrowed with anger that did make Barry take a precautionary step backwards. "Wait a second, are _you_ the one who's been stalking Anais?"

 _Red alert_. This time it was Barry's turn to say his name and think it was enough explanation. He did _not_ stalk anybody! "I'm the Flash."

Supergirl did not blink. Apparently, his answer wasn't enough to ease her suspicions about him. "The who now?"

"Wait, do you not know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"What about the Azalea?"

Supergirl questioned it with a look and shrugged 'no'.

"Green Arrow?"

No winner.

"Black Canary? Black Orchid? The Tempest?" Barry was getting more and more distraught seeing none of those names were familiar to her. Nobody could fake that type of confusion. "Firestorm? Atom? Datura? _Zoom_?"

"Sorry," Supergirl sheepishly smiled.

Barry started making the conclusion that he was not in the right place, not in the right _world_! One moment, he was telling Belén and the others that he'd be running faster and now suddenly he was in a different world!? He'd truly become faster than what he expected. "Oh boy...not as sorry as I am." He removed his mask and released a big, weary sigh. Of course this would be happening to him. Things were going far too good to be true. "Hey, I'm Barry Allen. I'm the fastest man alive. Also I think I am on the wrong Earth...and I'm gonna need your help."

~0~

Getting back to Supergirl's - or Kara Danvers' - job was a breeze, literally, for two fast people. Luckily for Barry, Kara and her friends - who Barry had yet to meet - had a secret, small office in an abandoned floor of the building where she worked. Barry was quick to start searching for any familiar names he knew who could help get him back home. He didn't even want to think what his friends, and Belén, would be thinking at the moment. Had he been gone for a couple minutes? Days? _Years_? Barry shook those thoughts out of his head.

He was sure Belén would kill him if he was gone for _years_.

Kara, on the other hand, was oblivious to those thoughts. She had just learned there were other earths and that Barry was from another Earth. It all sounded too impossible. She paced behind Barry's chair, asking zillions of questions. "So what do you mean, you're from another Earth? What, how many other Earths are there other than this one?" Barry tried to answer her but she kept firing more questions. "You know, _we're_ Earth."

The door of the room burst opened and in came a woman with long, slightly wavy, blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. She could have passed as Kara's sister had it not been for her brighter hair and stormy hair. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Barry at the computers. Her eyes were wide to the point they might bulge out of her head.

"Anais!" Kara turned to her friend.

Anais' wide eyes were glued on Barry. "Kara…?"

Barry turned his chair around to meet the woman's gaze but found he was being scrutinized from head to toe. "Uuh...hi?" Her eyes seemed like they were permanently stuck being _that_ wide. It was actually very concerning.

"Uh, Anais, let me explain," Kara cut in before things went further. She wasn't sure what Anais was thinking other than there was a strange man in their secret base. "Barry's the one who 'saved'-" she put quotation marks in the air, causing both women to momentarily laugh, "-me after Siobhan."

"I _did_ ," Barry made a face, but was not acknowledged.

"Also, he's from another world!"

"Universe," Barry corrected.

"Wait, wait," Anais pointed at him, her hair shaking with her as her head bobbed during her thought process. "You're...you're from another universe? Like...like that multiverse theory thing Winn talked about the other day?"

"Yes!" Kara exclaimed.

Anais took a moment to process this. She'd seen the lightning streak coming back into the city, and since Supergirl followed out of her own accord, Anais figured there was no danger. It allowed her to focus on finding the culprit of Kara's accident instead. Unfortunately, it hadn't been a very successful search. But she was seriously not expecting that man to show up, nor the news that other worlds existed.

Wait, a second...did he just say he was…?

"And so, from this other world you're... _fast_?"

Barry nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Oh!" Kara made the connection. "He's just like you!"

Anais had doubt on her face. She placed a hand on her hip and looked Barry up and down. "I'm probably faster."

Barry's face fell at the statement. He didn't know who this woman was but he knew she was wrong. "Hey! I don't know who you are but-"

"Thank God you don't," Anais said, just a tad wide-eyed. Oh my God she had to be dreaming but... this was too crazy even for her.

"Obviously," Barry mimicked her for a moment and elicited a small smile from her. "I'm from another universe. Literally. And I'm trying to find my friends from this world…" he trailed off and plopped down in front of the computers again to continue his search.

Anais cleared her throat, getting serious. So, this wasn't a dream. This was happening, this was real. "Hm, and let me guess? Not going so well?" she inquired.

"Nope! You guys have Central City but you don't have S.T.A.R. Labs. No Cisco Ramon, no Harrison Wells, no Caitlin Snow. Nobody who's gonna be able to help me get back home," Barry leaned away from the computer dejectedly. "I don't even see a Belén Palayta anywhere on this thing. That's the real downer here."

He missed Anais' small smile.

"Hey!" a tall, dark-haired man came through the doors along with a taller, dark-skinned man. "Kara, are you alright?"

Kara nodded reassuringly at them. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. What happened to Siobhan?"

"Oh, well, after she went all Mariah Carey on you, she just split," the shorter brunette man replied.

"Yeah I tried looking for her on my own but I couldn't find her," Anais explained, pretty disappointed the woman had evaded them so easily. "Oh, and you-" she flashed a smirk at the dark-brunette man, "-owe me. I was _so_ right about her. She's a banshee."

You really think this is a good time for that!?" the man exclaimed.

"Oh, so we both have Mariah Carey. That's something." Nobody paid attention to Barry's comment but it did make them realize he was _there_.

"Who are you?" The dark skinned man inquired suspiciously.

"Hey, sorry, I'm Barry Allen," Barry got up from his chair and went to shake hands with him.

"James Olsen. And this is Winn."

"I'm Anais!" the second blonde introduced herself with a strange excitement in her voice. "I just realized I didn't introduce myself to you. Anais A...Anais Mjorkland," she extended her hand to Barry. Barry shook her hand and missed Anais' friends exchanging mutual confused expressions behind them.

"Uh, you guys…" Kara laughed at the impossible thing she was about to repeat. "I'm not quite sure how to tell you this - well, I do know how to tell you, I just -"

James cleared his throat, hoping to get her to move on. "Kara?" Barry grinned because Kara sounded like she usually talked, or rambled, more than necessary. He missed Belén already.

"Yeah, right, sorry," Kara shook herself to get back on track. "Uh, Barry... ...is from another universe."

Winn appeared like he had just heard it was Christmas already. " _Cool_! So the, the theory of the multiverse, that's true?" Barry gave the confirming nod and flinched when Winn gave a loud "AHA!" at the others. "See!? I told you! Didn't I tell you?"

Anais rolled her eyes at him. "To be fair, half the science things you say sound kind of warped to me."

Winn didn't seem very amused by her comment, much less when James and Kara nodded in agreement. "You guys are bad friends."

Barry couldn't help but think of Cisco right at that moment. "It's true."

"That seems a bit tetchy," Anais crossed her arms but then shot Winn a squinted-eyed glance. "And I just refuse to believe that he gets everything right." Winn returned the favor with his own narrowed-eyed look, though a few seconds later he was smiling smugly.

"I still can't believe it. And _I'm_ from another planet," Kara laughed.

Barry's head whipped in her direction almost instantly. " _What_?"

"Oh, yeah. She's an alien," Winn pointed at Kara like Barry was unable to see her. "And so is Anais."

"Thank you for that disclosure, Winn," Anais pursed her lips together and was subjected to a crazed look from Barry too.

"So, do you have, like, other aliens on this Earth?" Barry knew that would be tricky to wrap his head around. Metahumans, easy. But aliens? That was something else...considering both Kara and Anais looked completely human.

"What do you mean by 'this Earth'?" James asked.

"Uh... Ah, hold on," Barry looked around and found a white board with one marker below. He uncapped said marker and began to draw normal circles on the board. "All right, so, imagine there are multiple versions of Earth. Um, one where the Nazis won World War II. One where Kennedy was never assassinated…" he gestured to each circle meant to represent each different scenario.

"Ooo!" Winn once more pointed excitedly. "Oh, yeah. One where all of us are evil!"

Barry turned back, completely scowling. "Been there. Girlfriend is evil so...it sucks." That wouldn't even begin to cover what he felt for Earth 2 and its doppelgangers.

"That cannot be fun," Winn scrunched his face.

"You have a girlfriend?" Anais asked with eyebrows raised together like she was suspicious.

Barry wasn't sure what her problem was but he wasn't going to spend time dwelling on it. He continued on with his explanation. "So all of these Earths occupy the same place in space, but they vibrate at a different frequency so they can't see one another."

"So, theoretically speaking, or not so much in your case," Anais gestured to him, "If someone were to go...impossibly fast...it's possible to open, like, a breach, and then travel between worlds?"

"Yes."

"Interesting…" Anais pondered on the concept on her own. She'd have to try that in her training sessions. Though she was sure if she traveled through worlds without permission, her parents would kill her. "I'm a speedster too but none of my people - as far as I know since I didn't grow up on my home planet - have ever done that."

"There's alien speedsters too...cool," Barry felt like his head would be spinning soon if they kept dropping more alien facts about themselves.

"What about you, though? You're human," Anais leaned forwards with curiosity, "How did you get your powers? You weren't born with them, right?"

"Um, so, I was struck by lightning the same night a particle accelerator exploded. And I became a superhero," Barry explained and suddenly Anais laughed. Had he said something funny?

She stopped laughing when she noticed his serious face. "Oh, you were serious?"

"Kind of, yeah..."

"Sorry, aren't humans supposed to die if they get struck by lightning?" Anais looked to the others for some help.

"Livewire didn't do that," Winn reminded.

"Yeah, but that was different. Kara acted as an intermediate for that." James' explanation didn't help her either.

"Let's just call it a miracle," Barry shrugged.

"Still weird…" Anais tilted her head. "And so, you can just...pop back and forth between universes?"

"Uh, no actually. This happened by accident," Barry released a breath, still confused on how the hell he managed to do that. "I have traveled through time before by accident. I've never jumped parallel dimensions without meaning to. So until I can figure this out, I'm stuck here."

"Well, don't worry. Don't worry at all because we're gonna help you," Kara backtracked to her friends, everyone board save a weary James.

"First things first, food. I have to consume about 10,000 calories a day…" Barry began but Anais finished for him.

"Because you burn through your calories incredibly fast, right?"

"Yes…"

"Mhm," Anais smiled her first genuine smile. Now like that, she seemed like a friendly person. "Believe me, Kara and I know places. Well, I know them because Kara knows them. I just moved here."

Kara hummed as ideas started invading her mind. "Mr. Sherbets?"

Anais quickly agreed. "Mr. Sherbets."

Barry looked between them, frankly their 'idea faces' scared him a bit. "What's a Mr-"

"Do you like donuts?" Kara asked.

"Who _doesn't_ like donuts?"

"That settles it!" Anais beamed. "James, I'm taking a personal day!"

"Wait, what-" James didn't get to finish because the woman had already led Barry and Kara out.

~0~

Kara was heading for her desk to pick up her purse when she crossed her boss' office and the blonde woman saw her.

"Ker-rah, you're alive," Cat Grant called from her desk, merely raising her stark blue eyes from her laptop for a second.

Kara had forgotten that everyone in the office had seen her crash through glass because of Siobhan. She hurried into Cat's office to explain. "Ms. Grant, don't worry, I was rescued…"

Anais, Barry, Winn and James followed Kara in just to back her up in case Cat asked too many questions.

"Stop stating the obvious. You're in the middle of breaking news and I want you to act like it," Cat spoke with a sharpness usual to her. "And yes, yes, another one of my ex-employees went all revengey. But... there's a new superhero in National City." She turned over her laptop to reveal a perfectly clear picture of a red blur going down a street. "Miss Allen, you are proving to be quite gifted." Cat was truly dazzled with the work Anais had given her so far.

Kara shot Anais a look but Anais innocently smiled back. There was no way in hell she was going to be fired anytime soon with these pictures.

Barry was staring at Anais in confusion. "Wait, your name…"

"This is huge. I thought it would be Golden Girl but the color scheme is off. So it has to be direct competition for Golden Girl and Supergirl" she waved a hand in the air, practically seeing the headlines now."

"He doesn't have to be because he's probably not," Anais chimed in. "He's not as fast...trust me."

" _Um_ ," Barry tilted his head in her way, offended. "I would think he _is_."

Anais remained with that innocent, yet tighter, smile. "I would think he's not. But I'm sure she's open to having a sidekick?"

Kara kept looking between the two since she was in the middle of them. Her mouth opened several times to make an interjection and hopefully stop them from actually arguing, however Barry reached his limit before she could so.

"Why a sidekick!? Why not an ally? Even a new partner, maybe!?" Barry erupted into a streak of alternatives so that they could both come out looking good in the eyes of this city. Cat loudly cleared her throat, making him stop. Her gaze was far too intense for him. "Speaking was the wrong choice, I see that now…"

Cat's eyebrow raised but it was still hard for him to decide what she was. Angry? Upset?

"All five of you standing there doing nothing, you look like the attractive yet non-threatening, racially diverse cast of a CW show." Cat then directed her gaze specifically on Barry. "Who are _you_?"

"Uh, he's my cousin," Anais quickly supplied and had the support of her friends. "Barry Allen. He's just visiting…"

"Mm," Cat gave the matter no importance. She snapped her fingers specifically at Anais and James. "I'm going to need a better image for this speedster. Preferably one that shows the face. Or is that also undo-able?"

Barry got the jist that the woman was waiting for the pair to do something she wanted. They naturally looked nervous. He would be too if that's who he worked with. Suddenly, Captain Singh was a dream!

Anais cleared her throat. "Consider...almost...done…?"

"And Ker-rah, there are a lot of people who wanna know what happened. Speak to no one. You're mine. I will let you know when you should reveal this exclusive information," Cat turned her laptop to continue working. "Now, I have to name this hero. I was thinking about 'The Whoosh' or 'The Red Streak' or 'The Blur.'"

How Barry missed Cisco at the moment. Cat didn't possess his ability to give good names. "What about The Flash?" he decided to help her. "I'm just saying, I think that's a pretty cool superhero name. Right?"

Cat looked to the side and tested the name out. "The Flash? Sounds like someone whose only superpower is jumping out of an alley in a trench coat." Anais and Kara covered their mouths to hide their laugh while Barry resisted the urge to snap back. "No, I want mystery, I want intrigue, I want the Blur. Boys, be gone. Girl-" she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Kara, "-stay."

"I'm getting donuts," Anais warned Kara as they left her in the office. "And cookies, and brownies - oh, and cupcakes!"

"Anais, what about that picture Cat wants?" James stopped her on her way to her desk just outside his office. "And you still have that crime scene I told you to check out."

"Um, well," Anais turned around fast that Barry bumped into her, "If Barry's willing then I can snap that easy-peasy no problem."

"Ah, I, uh...I guess?" Barry couldn't find a problem with that. He hoped to be out of the city (and the world) before people actually got to recognizing him.

"There we go!" Anais clapped and glanced at James again. "I'll have it in tonight. I should get the hospital thing done in five minutes tops too."

"You just started working here, you can't take personal time," Winn had to point out but then he got to thinking himself and entered a state of doubt. "...can we?"

"Not unless you want Cat to go after you," James' warning was enough to make Winn backtrack for his desk. "Anais," his more stern look made the blonde in question shift. There was something else she wasn't telling him, but he doubted she would spill in the middle of the office.

"Please James, can I just go already?" she asked quieter. "I'll get the pictures, trust me."

In the end, James gave a small nod. He warned her to be careful, and that made Barry wonder if he should take offence or not.

~0~

Anais kept her word to take Barry to 'Mr. Sherbet's' that afternoon. As soon as she snapped the pictures James wanted from the crime scene, she led Barry into the cafe shop. Though she was still new to the city, the cafe shop had become her daily stop for snacks. The employees were already getting to know her.

She just got an unforeseen call on the way that she couldn't let pass. "Yeah, Mom, no it wasn't me. You read right. But I'll tell you more about it later. Talk to you later," Anais sheepishly hung up and put her phone away. "Sorry, my parents saw the picture Cat already published and they thought it was me."

"She already got that posted?" Barry got to wondering who was the real speedster, them or Cat Grant?

"Oh yeah," Anais took a seat at the counter and waved a hand to get the attention of an employee. "She's fast like that when it comes to superhero claimage."

"So she's done it to you, then?"

"Eh…" Anais swayed her head, "I haven't really let her. It's not quite up to me yet to reveal myself to the city. It's up to the government and I guess my parents…"

"O-okay," Barry wasn't sure how to respond to that, even if he did understand exactly what it meant. He chalked it off as alien related, which then prompted him to ask, "So, wait, when you said your parents, you meant…"

Anais caught on to what he meant and chuckled. "Adoptive parents. They adopted me when I was really young."

Unknowingly, she got Barry to sympathize with her in that one second. "What happened?" he found himself asking before he could think it through. He regretted it when she answered.

"She, um, was murdered...by some humans…"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

Anais' warm smile only made him feel somewhat less guilty. He knew exactly what it felt like when people asked him what happened to his parents and now here he was doing the same thing to this girl.

"It's fine, Barry, really," she promised him. Since no employees had come by despite her initial gesture, she called to one of the men instead. "Miles? Can I get a dozen cupcakes? I honestly don't care what flavor they are. Oh, and donuts. Kara's basically gonna kill me if I don't come back with new donuts."

"You ate them already?" Miles blinked. "But she bought those last night. Between you and Kara you'll run us out of our stock!"

"Can you just..." Anais felt her face warm up with embarrassment. The fact he had said that not so quietly made it worse for her. It didn't help when Miles said something more.

"I gotta give you bravery points for being so open about your big appetite on a date," his glance at Barry sent the two speedsters into stammering states.

"We are _not_ on a date!" Anais practically shouted. "No thank you!"

"Yeah, I have a girlfriend!" Barry added on, loud and clear. It was fairly comical for Miles to watch them both nod their heads at the same time.

"Honestly, Miles, I'm calling the manager!"

Miles laughed but did ultimately apologize for his assumption and promised them some sweet cinnamon rolls on the house.

Anais shook her head. "Sorry about that," she said after Miles left. "Does your world also have the, uh, 'women and men can't be just friends' thing too?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Barry nodded. "Hey, about your name...you're not like related to me, right? Not a secret wife or anything? No offence, I mean, you're pretty and, yeah, but, I-I just…" he was stuttering and rambling now. Belén would have smacked him by now. God he really missed her. "I have a girlfriend."

"I'm not," Anais reassured. "Total coincidence. And yeah, I get that you have a girlfriend. By now I'm sure the entire shop knows that."

"Sorry," Barry flushed and cleared his throat. "I just...wanted to make that clear...for everyone."

"Mission accomplished," Anais rested her elbows on the counter then put her chin over her palms. "It's not easy being in a world different to your own, huh?"

Barry knew where she was coming from and sheepishly nodded his head. "Yeah. I-I still don't understand how it happened. I mean, I was just running and then-then…" he stopped talking when he noticed Anais' sudden movement out of her chair. Her head snapped to the entrance doors. "Are you alright?"

"He's doing it again," she whispered.

"He...?" Barry noticed her gaze was on the doors so he naturally shifted in his stool to see what was claiming her eyes. As far as he could tell, there was nothing significant going on. "Who's doing-"

Anais ran off, leaving him to call and chase after her. Barry didn't understand what had made her change like that but he wasn't a strange to it. He chased after her until she stopped at the end of the street.

"Anais, what are you looking at?" Barry could see the urgency in her eyes as she scanned the streets. He knew that all too well. "Who's out there?"

"I-I'm sorry, you should go back into the cafe shop," she said distractedly, taking a step forwards.

"Why? What's happening?"

Anais seemed to find what she was looking for, only this time the figure had started to run. Before she took a step forwards, the man _sped_ past her and Barry, causing a familiar force of wind to push them back. Barry barely had time to process there was another speedster with them when Anais took off after this new speedster with her own speed.

"Maybe I _haven't_ left Central City," Barry rubbed the back of his neck as he stared after the two speedsters. Was it really going to be that in every earth there'll always be two speedsters going at it? Whatever the answer was, he'd have to follow them. He had to help Anais however he could.

Anais was determined to catch this man who, for some reason, thought she was his personal plaything. She could feel his presence in her mind in the form of a tickle. The whispers were faint despite her close to him. She was just behind him and yet nothing about his back seemed special. He was just another civilian by appearance.

Barry watched the culprit go up a building and then Anais following a second later, but the blonde didn't seem to have a good hold of her balance. She screamed as she fell plummeted down. Barry charged on faster to catch her on his way up and safely brought her to the rooftop.

"Are you alright?" he set her down on her feet but despite their impromptu chase, her gaze was still searching for that mysterious man.

"Yeah, I'm - OW!" she felt an immense pain jab at her head. She fell to her knees, hands clutching her head with her eyes shut.

Barry wasn't sure what was going on but he assumed it was that man making her feel that pain. He looked up and saw the man in the air, but the sun's rays were shadowing his appearance.

"He's in-in m-my head!" Anais cried, shaking her head as if it would shake off the pain.

Barry glared at the man and decided to use his own Earth 1 tricks. He raced in a circle, charging up until he could produce enough electricity for lightning. Anais' eyes widened as Barry kept going in circles. The pain in her head had gradually subsided but she knew it was just because the man up in the air was probably coming up with something worse to hit her with.

Barry finally stopped when he had enough power and threw a lightning bolt at the man. He was mighty satisfied when it knocked the man backwards, electrifying him while he spun in the air.

"Oh my God..." Anais' voice made him turn around to see her slowly standing up. Her blonde hair was all over her face but she'd perfectly seen what he'd done. "How...how did you do that!?"

"Uuh..." Barry flushed at her awed face. "I...somebody taught me. Has no one taught you that?"

Anais shook her head fast. "No! I've only just started actually training! But nobody..." A laugh momentarily took her over as she hurried up to him with her gaze in the sky where the man used to be, "Nobody's taught me how to do _that_!"

"Well, if you'd like," Barry started, intending on offering himself as a brief teacher when suddenly she shot into the air. "Aaaand she can fly...cool..." _She's an alien, flying is probably part of the package deal or something,_ he thought to himself.

Anais didn't waste a second and delivered a second attack at the man. Golden energy swirled around her hands and put together created a mass streak of energy that shot forwards. The man was hit again but when Anais fired heat vision from her eyes, the man did the same.

It was a struggle since it seemed like the two were matched in the heat vision department. Suddenly, the man ducked down, leaving Anais to fall forwards in the air. In that second-span, the man fired a jet of orange energy that threw Anais down to the rooftop. Even if Barry wanted to catch her, the fall had been too fast to process. Anais fell with a harsh thud. The ground cracked with her force.

The man watched her for a second from the air then flew away.

"Anais!" Barry quickly went to Anais' side and hoped she came with a fast healing ability too because that kind of fall would require immense medical attention. Anais landed on her side and despite the bits of cement stuck on her clothes and face, she seemed fine, if not a little groggy.

"I really hate that guy," she swallowed hard then made a face as she tasted cement on her tongue.

"Who was he?" Barry helped her stand up.

"...I have no frikin idea," she glared at the sky, the man no longer being in sight.

~ 0 ~

The D.E.O. turned out to be even better than STAR Labs. The moment Barry got there he sped all around the rooms he could just to check them out then finally stopped in the main control room to bask in it. "Yo, this place is amazing, all right?" he laughed, still too excited to calm down. Anais, Kara (as Supergirl) and Winn laughed at him.

"Wow, so...you're a dork too," Anais concluded with a shake of her head.

Barry stopped laughing momentarily to point and say, "You know, I get the feeling you and Belén would get along really well."

Anais smirked.

"Okay," Kara raised her hands to get their attention. "So here's the situation. There's a villain I foguht a while ago named Livewire. She escaped from our custody with the help of Siobhan-"

"-the banshee that threw Kara out CatCo.," Anais said for Barry's benefit. She then shot Winn an apologetic glance. He was taking Siobhan's new evil route a little hard.

"Yes," Kara continued on, "And now they're probably both about to have a vendetta against me and Cat. We're going to need a lot of help."

"Which is why I brought Barry over of course," Anais gestured to the speedster.

"And, actually, you said this place could help get me home," Barry pointed out and received a big, innocent smile in return.

"Yes, and while we put these two crazies back I can have my godparents look into it, yeah? They're scientists and they really know their stuff about molecular force and all that crap involving speed."

"Supergirl?" a petite, dark-haired woman in black, emerged from the side and was flanked by several employees. "Anais? Who is this masked man? Alien?"

"Metahuman," Barry waved a hand, a bit nervous of all the 'guards' probably just waiting orders to take aim on him.

"Well, we have protocol for visitors at the DEO, Supergirl," the woman said, still waiting for an explanation.

"Lucy, it's fine," Anais turned around, making a gesture for the guards to leave them. "He's here to help us find that Livewire woman."

Lucy turned her gaze into an even more authoritative one. "You were supposed to be in two hours ago for your training."

Anais opened her mouth as if to give a proper explanation for her tardiness, but at the end she closed it and smiled. "I was busy."

"I'll remember that next time you press to go out there," Lucy retorted with the same smile. She then looked over her to Barry. "I'm allowing it because we do need all the help we can get. So what do I call you? Speedy?"

Barry pulled his hood off and waved once more. "Barry Allen."

"Lucy Lane. I hope you're bringing more to the table than just quick reflexes."

"As it just so happens, catching criminals is both my night and day job," Barry smiled to himself but quickly added, for reference, "I'm a CSI," for everyone's benefit. "By the way, do you guys have a crime lab here?"

"Yeah. My sister's lab's right over there," Kara nodded and started leading the way.

"Wait, you have a sister?" Barry's voice did a high pitch much like a child would. "Where is she at?"

"I wish I knew," Kara admitted with a small sigh.

~ 0 ~

After getting introduced to the D.E.O's system, Barry got to work on helping Kara find her missing enemy. It turned out Winn was definitely Cisco's counterpart in this new world because the man was _smart_. God help him if the two men ever met each other.

"Guys," Anais's voice drew Barry, Kara and Winn in. She had just walked in with Lucy and James, the former looking very expectant.

Barry knew that look all too well and decided to present what they had so far. "So I wrote an algorithm to monitor variations in meter usage around the city, and it all leads to that warehouse," he pointed to the blinking dot on the screen behind him. "I see bad guys love their abandoned warehouses on your Earth, too, huh?"

"Isn't that kind of like, universal, for villains?" asked Anais with a faint trace of amusement. Barry nodded, smiling to himself.

"I'll authorize a drop team," Lucy turned to leave but Kara stopped her.

"No. No, no! She's too dangerous!" she stopped and motioned to Barry. "Let's go."

"What? Just like that?" frowned Anais. "You're not meant-"

"Barry!" Kara's voice went over Anais and anyone else who would speak up.

The speedster quickly got up from his chair and got ready to listen. "So, what's the plan?"

Kara had a plan alright. "Catch the bad girl, bring her back here so she can't hurt anyone. 85% chance of punching."

"Okay, that I get," Barry nodded. "But like, what's the _plan_? Maybe we can overload her somehow."

"Yeah," Winn remembered the last time they fought Livewire, "What about the Industrial Capacitor you were gonna trap her in last time?"

Kara quickly shot the idea down. "No, no. It went busto."

"Well, Dynamic Duo will build you a new one," Anais shrugged and clapped Winn on the shoulder, the man agreeing fairly fast.

Kara still disagreed. "No. If we wait, we lose her. If we lose her, God knows what kind of damage she could do, or who she could hurt! I defeated her once before. I can do it again. With your help…" she turned to Barry with hopeful looks.

"Kara…" Anais stepped forwards but the blonde Kryptonian suddenly pointed a warning finger at her to stay put.

"You're staying here!"

"But-"

"Barry, let's go!" Kara marched right out, leaving Anais with the words in her mouth. Barry awkwardly, and confusedly, followed after Kara.

"Lucy…" Anais turned to the woman in question pleadingly. "I can-"

But Lucy stopped her with a hand in front of Anais's face. "No, you're still in training." And with that, Lucy left her as well.

From the main control room, they monitored Kara's location and, therefore, Barry's. As it turned out, Livewire had chosen an old warehouse just across the city. And because it was abandoned, there were no security cameras to hack into to better monitor.

"What about the streets?" Anais planted herself on the chair next to Winn. "Can we see better from the streets?"

"Um…" Winn began to try and hack into the nearby camera streets but by that time, Livewire had already introduced her newest partner: Silver Banshee.

"Winn!" Anais went like it was his fault. " _That's_ your psycho girlfriend!"

"It's not like I told her to become...weird...like that…" Winn couldn't even acknowledge the fact his girlfriend, or rather ex-girlfriend now, Siobhan, had turned evil.

"Banshees are evil in mythology," Anais reminded.

"Whatever she is, she needs to be taken in," Lucy's voice drew the two back to business.

It took about one second for the fight to actually begin, and unfortunately it was not going good for their side. Because Kara was unprepared, there was no strategy to use and Barry was out of his element. He had yet to meet a _meta_ with a killer cry - Hartley's was technologically produced and could be taken easily - and plus, he didn't know this 'Livewire' would act as a conduit for his own power. He could really use his own team right about now. If he had Belén, he would know their dynamic and between each other would come up with an actual plan!

"They're getting creamed out there," Winn mumbled and looked to the side to see Anais staring with wide eyes. Her face was panicked, unusually so, and so suddenly she was gone. "What? Where-"

In the abandoned warehouse, Barry had just been thrown over a wooden box that crumbled with him. That one _hurt_. Silver Banshee's scream smacked Supergirl against the opposite wall. As the two were getting back, hopefully, on their feet, Livewire began a crazed hum between her lips. Lightning crackled around her hands as she made a round in the middle.

"Which one should I get first…?" she pretended to think about even though she was already turning in Supergirl's direction. But above came a crash and suddenly Livewire was slammed straight first against the ground.

Silver Banshee went to use her sonic scream but Anais drew an arm and released a bright blast of orange beam directly at her. Supergirl had finally gotten back on her feet and was awed yet worried for her friend who seemed a bit...out of it. Anais had an odd determination on her face that seemed to want to protect. Funny, she had only worked with Anais for a short while now and had never seen that face.

Livewire rolled on her back and attacked by surprise with a thunder blow that threw Anais away. There was a loud crash as the blonde hit the wall and fell over an already crumbling shelf.

"No!" Supergirl flew over to make sure Anais was fine and gave the perfect escape for Livewire and Silver Banshee.

~ 0 ~

Barry never thought he would meet someone who could outmatch Joe and Veronica in the 'parenty scolding lecture' department until he saw Lucy Lane going at it with Anais. After returning to the D.E.O with Anais, the blonde woman was taken to the medbay and subjected to various tests and observations. It reminded Barry of his early days at STAR Labs where basically everything he did was recorded and observed.

"Hey," Kara met with Barry just outside the medbay. "How are you doing?"

"Well, aside from my eardrums ringing like church bells, I'm okay," Barry gave a light shrug of his shoulders. The injuries he'd gotten from hitting the walls and the furniture had already vanished by the time they returned.

Kara apologetically smiled at him. "I'm sorry I made you rush in on Livewire without a plan. I didn't know she was gonna have a cohort."

"That's the thing about being a superhero. You have to somehow be prepared for the unexpected," Barry said, and couldn't count the many times he had definitely _not_ been prepared for something out in the field.

"Something happened to me a few weeks ago. I was exposed to this substance that made me crazy. I did a lot of horrible things. And when I was helping people as Supergirl, I was... I was so happy. And now that the people don't want me to help them, I feel lost. And I'm in such a hurry to prove myself again, I'm making stupid mistakes. Like today."

"This is gonna sound ironic coming from me but, um, you need to slow down. Just keep doing your good work," Barry advised with a true heart honesty." Don't worry about the rest. The public will forgive you, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

"'Cause the same thing happened to me."

Kara blinked. "Really? So what finally fixed things?"

"Time. When you're used to fixing things with brute strength, or in my case, amazing speed, it's hard to accept that there are things out of our control."

Kara took a breath and nodded, hoping the words would stick by her for the next time she felt bad. With the silence between her and Barry, the increasing voices from the medbay started to carry over.

"We must inform them, Miss Lane," one of the examiners was saying while Anais, seemingly more panicked than ever, shouted 'no!'.

Lucy nodded her head, calm despite the mood over them. "Yes, I understand."

"No!" Anais jumped off the bed when the examiners began to leave with Lucy. "You can't do that!"

"I'm sorry Anais, it's out of my hands-" Lucy stumbled back when Anais sped around the room to snatch every clipboard holding her information. "Anais."

"You can't tell them," Anais insisted. "Th-they won't let me work with Supergirl if they know I went out before-"

"You were ready?" Lucy finished for her. "Well, you should have thought of that before you went out. I'm sorry." She gave the nod for the examiners to take back the clipboards and finally leave.

Anais rubbed her face when they'd taken the clipboards from her then stomped back to the bed.

"Anais, what's wrong?" Kara walked in with Barry behind her. "The yelling…?"

"She clearly got told she shouldn't have gone out," Barry said. "I know that. Went through it...still do…"

Anais gave him a small, sideways smile. "Yeah...you would…" Barry, in return, gave a questioning look at the way she had said...like she KNEW knew him.

Kara, on the other hand, didn't notice. All she knew was that her friend was in distress. "Anais, you shouldn't have gone out like that…"

"I know!" Anais threw her arms in the air. "And now that I have, my parents are going to be informed about it and...knowing my Dad, he's going to overreact and bring me back home."

"What's the problem if you went out?" asked Barry.

"I'm not technically supposed to go out until I finish training," Anais explained. "It's part of my contract with this place...with the government…"

"Why'd you go then if you knew you could get into this big of a trouble?"

"Because you were in trouble," Anais said, shrugging her shoulders. "You...guys...were hurt, and I had to help."

"This is my fault," Kara sighed and shook her head.

"It's not, I made the decision," Anais promised her and glanced at Barry. "And if I had to do it again I would. No doubt."

"You're such a good friend," Kara reached out and hugged her.

"Yeah I am," Anais smiled in agreement. She smiled specifically at Barry for a second before Winn came in.

"Are you alright?" he'd been barred from talking to her due to the fact she was rushed directly into the medbay. "I looked away for like a second and-"

"-I'm sorry," Anais plopped down on the side of the medbed. "I just can't get anything right today."

Both Kara and Winn exchanged confused glances. Of course they still didn't know what Anais went through earlier. Barry cleared his throat behind them, gaining their attention, though he was looking straight at Anais. "You should just tell them." He understood what she was trying to do - keep secrets about the dangerous things that'd happened to her - and he told her before that he'd done the same and it blew up in his face. It was funny, actually, how much Anais reminded Barry of himself when he first started out as the Flash. He felt kind of odd being the teacher now.

"Tell us what?" chorused Kara and Winn.

Anais felt her eyes tear up now that she was thinking about both failed attempts to be a hero. "He came back, Kara." Her voice had gone shaky, but it wasn't clear if it was out of fear or weariness. "He made me chase him around the city and then-then he _hit_ me with his powers, and I-I was weak!"

Kara looked back at Barry for some confirmation. Barry gave a silent nod. She hurried to Anais side and set her hands on the woman's shoulders. "Anais, why didn't you say something?"

"I'm confused," Winn raised his index finger in the air. "Say something about what? Who did you chase?"

Anais rubbed some loose tears from her face and sniffed. "Remember that guy I ran after the other day?" he nodded. "He came back today. He's a speedster too and he can fly, he's telepathic, and he has this sort of power like mine…"

"And you went after him on your own!?" Winn exclaimed.

"I wasn't alone," Anais smiled a teary-eyed smile at Barry.

"And you don't have to be alone ever again," Kara reminded her. "Just because you moved here to be independent doesn't mean you have to take things up on your own."

"It's just difficult processing," Anais sniffed again, hoping to calm herself down. "I haven't even exposed myself to the city and I already have an enemy? That's got to be a record."

"Well, you know what, we'll double up on our training," Kara decided then. "If this guy wants to fight then he'll get a fight."

"Yeah, and you know what?" Winn came to Anais' other side on the bed. "Your suits done," he whispered and proceeded to smile widely. "In case you wanted to take it out for a spin, or…"

Anais laughed as did Kara.

In that moment, watching the trio of friends converse over their course of plan, Barry _really_ missed Belén and the others. Being a world apart literally _hurt_ his insides. _I wonder what Belén is doing right now_ , he wondered. She'd been waiting to congratulate him at the end of his race and he'd strung himself into another world. His heart ached for his Bells.

~0~

Kara and Anais crowded over Barry as he worked on small devices on a table. He had Winn helping him create the devices but only now was explaining what he was doing. "So back on my Earth, we fought a villain who used sound waves as a weapon. He called himself Pied Piper…" Barry explained while he worked the last turn of a screwdriver.

"That's a weird name but a catchy one," Anais swayed her head in thought.

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "So I whipped up these bad boys."

Anais ignored the earbuds for a moment. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'bad boys'?"

"Yeah, sorry…" Barry pretended to wince.

Kara had picked up one earbud to examine it. "Are they earbuds?"

"Yeah. It'll protect us from Silver Banshee's yelly voice."

"Why are there three sets?" Anais asked once she noticed.

Barry smiled at her. "Why do you think...Golden Girl?"

Anais laughed. "That's definitely not what I'm calling myself."

"Cat Grant would say otherwise," Winn sent her a smirk.

Lucy and some other employees came striding into the area. "James just called. Livewire and Silver Banshee kidnapped Cat!"

One of the employees followed up at the nearby desk to put on a video left by Livewire. "Hello, Red and Blue. Come to National City Park now if you don't want Cat's blood all over your hands or all over the street."

Anais winced at Livewire's maniacal laughter. "Seriously, what's wrong with her? Who's more insane - Livewire or Silver Banshee?"

Winn, who stood beside her, shook his head. "I would rather we never found out."

Kara sighed. "You don't have to do this, Barry. This is my fight."

Barry shook his head to disagree while he got up from his chair. "One for all and all for…" he stopped for a second, "You guys have Three Musketeers here, right?"

Kara smiled. "All for one. C'mon!"

"Be careful!" Anais was left to call as the two headed out. She glumly leaned against the table with her arms folded. "I cannot believe I'm benched...again."

"It could be worse," Winn said, offering her a kind smile but Anais was just too upset. "Hey, I'm sorry. Really. How mad are your parents going to be when they get here?"

"I don't know, honestly," Anais sighed.

"Anais," Lucy called and had the blonde lean off the table, "Your parents are on their way."

"Guess that's it then..." Anais sighed again but before she could truly feel sorry for herself, a new idea popped into her head. It wasn't so much of an idea but more of a...realization. "Wait...if they're really mad then they can't actually get _more_ mad than what they already are, _so_..."

Lucy and Winn exchanged looks, both assuming what Anais was leading up to.

Anais clapped her hands with a newfound gleefulness. "I can't possibly get into more trouble! I'm going out there!"

"What!?" Winn's eyes widened. "But you were just saying that-"

"Lucy!" Anais sped up to the brunette, startling her with the gust of wind that slapped her face. "How's about you-"

Lucy was quick to cover up Anais' mouth. "Whatever you're thinking of, _don't_ tell me. I'm not here, I'm not listening..." She pulled her hand off Anais' mouth and walked around her. "I don't know, I don't hear...la...la..la, la…" she flashed a smile at the blonde as she walked out.

A big smile spread across Anais's face. "Love the temporary boss." She sped up to Winn, ignoring his cry for her to stop doing that and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You were making the suit!"

"Yes...but listen, shouldn't we-"

"Show me the suit," Anais' face fell serious, leaving no room for Winn to even try to persuade her to stay.

~0~

Supergirl and Flash had their hands full with Livewire and Siobhan. Cat Grant had been saved in time but that didn't mean the rest of the city were too. Livewire and Siobhan didn't exactly care what their destruction hit or caused. And just because Silver Banshee's cries couldn't affect Supergirl and the Flash didn't mean everyone had the same immunity.

Supergirl had been thrown by Silver Banshee's scream and the latter didn't wait for a recovery. She was getting frustrated by the crowd around them and since Livewire was still throwing with the Flash up on a rooftop, she decided to get rid of them herself.

"Enjoy my singing," she smirked and sucked in a breath to deliver her fatal cry.

A golden figure streaked over the crowd and threw forwards a golden ray of light that blinded Silver Banshee. "I'd stop if I were you," Anais, in an orange and gold suit with a golden half-mask over her face, stopped across from Silver Banshee. "My light can be terribly awful."

"Who are you?" Silver Banshee picked herself up and threw Anais a dirty look.

"Someone nicknamed me Golden Girl but I have to disagree. Call me _Solar_ ," Anais detected an incoming sonic scream and acted before it came. Her hands glowed golden seconds before she fired a series of energy jets that made Silver Banshee skip around until one shot knocked her over the same bench Cat had been tied to.

At the same time, Livewire zapped into the area and a second later the Flash arrived as well. Livewire sent a growl at the helicopter in the air and decided she despised it. She raised her hands and emitted electricity at the helicopter but before it reached the helicopter...Supergirl got in the way.

"No!" Anais cried and zoomed towards Supergirl but the Kryptonian had fallen to the ground first.

Livewire laughed and started heading for the fallen alien.

"Leave her alone!" One woman from the crowd stepped forwards. Little by little, the crowd assembled in front of Supergirl to prevent Livewire From reaching her.

Livewire could not believe her ears. "Yesterday you people were ready to string her up. Now you're willing to die for her?"

"She was willing to die for us," the same woman answered and had the agreement from everyone else.

Livewire turned to Silver Banshee who had just gotten back on her feet. "What do you say we thin the herd?" her hands crackled with re-charged electricity.

"Or…" Anais rolled her eyes and shot a yellow blast of energy at a fire hydrant near the two women. Water burst and gravely shocked Livewire and Silver Banshee till the two fell unconscious.

"Nice one," Barry stopped beside her. "...Solar."

Anais smiled to herself with glee. She turned around and was even happier to see the citizens helping Supergirl get back on her feet. The city was once again with Supergirl, just like it should be.

~0~

Barry moved around the cracked cement of the DEO's training field. It was fairly similar to the STAR Labs field so he knew it was the perfect spot for Anais to try out the lightning bolt. Since there was still no word about his way back home, Barry figured it was the perfect opportunity to try teach Anais the things he learned about their speedster abilities. If it wasn't now then when would it be?

"Alright Miss _Solar_ ," he turned around to see Anais smiling proudly at her new name. It reminded him too much of when he and Belén used to train in their earlier days. Anais had the same young spark that Belén had when she was first exploring her powers. "You've seen me do the lightning trick so it's not entirely new."

"Except it kind of is," Anais folded her arms over her chest. "Because I've never done anything like that. Hell, the only thing I've done is just run and that's only because it's part of my DEO tests. I'm basically at zero, Barry. I couldn't even run up a building."

Barry of course remembered the fact he had to catch her before she plummeted down. "Okay," he took in a breath while he re-assessed this training session. It was unfortunate that he only had a couple of hours to teach her what took a long time. But if he could just introduce her to the concepts then he could leave knowing that she had the idea of how to keep training on her own. "Why don't we start with the building thing, then? The key to staying on balance is to keep your speed at a certain level. I'm sure that Winn or somebody else at the DEO can calculate that for you because every speedster has different speed levels."

"Okay," Anais dutifully nodded her head, preparing to take mental notes of everything that Barry would tell her. "Something else basic? Just to keep my confidence up?"

Barry smiled with amusement. "How about the windmill trick?"

"The what?"

Barry nodded and turned sideways away from her. "This one's super easy, I promise." He extended his arms to his sides and started propelling them in fast circles until he create the familiar wind. As basic as it was, it still left Anais awed.

"Let me try!" She took a few steps away from him and imitated his arm movements. Sure enough, she started creating the same air force. "Oh, that _was_ easy! And it's handy!"

"It _is_ ," Barry pointed at her. "Never think because it's a basic movement that it won't be helpful. I can't tell you how many times I've used it to stop people from falling."

"What else?" Anais put on her best listening ears for her temporary teacher. Like Barry, she was aware that there weren't really any other speedsters like them so whatever he would teach her now was _it_.

Barry started with being able to handle doing several tasks at light speed while giving each task the sufficient attention. At first glance, Anais seemed a bit distracted so Barry presumed she might have a struggle with that but it wasn't something impossible. He was a bit all over the place too in the beginning. He then moved onto actually running over difficult structures, such as water. Fortunately, that was one of the tests the DEO ran - Anais remarking about the terribly cold water and them just shoving her into it - so Barry moved on pretty quick. He switched to the explanation of calculated speed jumps to vibrating their molecules - a concept that completely fascinated Anais because how else would she be able to sneak up on her friends? - and finally to the lightning bolt trick.

Anais watched him go in endless circles just like he had before on the rooftop. He came to the same stop and chucked the lightning bolt into the air. "That is _really_ cool," she sighed in content. "I can't wait to do that."

"You'll be able to one day," Barry assured her. "The key is to be connected to your speed, to the Speed Force."

"The Speed Force?" Anais repeated, sounding and looking utterly lost. "What's that?"

Barry blinked at her, for a moment there he thought she was joking...but her grey eyes were blank. "You don't...you don't know about the Speed Force?" Anais shook her head. "Anais, the Speed Force is the origin of your speedster abilities. How could you not know about it?"

Anais felt self-conscious with her lack of knowledge, something that Barry hadn't intended on. "I just...I didn't get to really know my heritage. My real Mom died before I could access my powers. I don't really know who nor what I am."

"That's okay," Barry said quickly once he saw her dejected face getting stronger. "It's never too late. I literally got my powers two years ago and I'm still learning. Somebody," - he chose to omit that the 'somebody' he referred to was Thawne - "taught me that the Speed Force is a force that drives your powers. It's a sentient force that we can actually go into."

"That would be so cool," Anais bit her lip anxiously. "It talks to you?"

Barry nodded. "It's helped me out and I'm sure that it's helped me out in situations where I never even realized. This force, Anais, is a force you want to get to know. You should try to connect to it."

"How do I do that?"

"It all depends on the speedster. I'm sure you'll find a way."

Anais nodded, though she didn't look very convinced she'd find that way. "Must be nice having people that could teach you, though," she smiled sadly. "Kara tries her best to teach me but she's not connected to this force you're talking about. She's just speedy but not like we are. I wish you could stay here."

"Yeah..." Barry scratched the back of his head. "As tempting as that sounds, I _really_ would like to return home. No offence to you or anyone else but...I have somebody I need to get back to." Anais began to smile knowingly even before Barry named this person he needed to get back to. "Belén needs me and I need her."

"She's your girlfriend, right? The one you keep mentioning?"

Barry sheepishly nodded. "Yeah, I miss her. She was waiting for me where we planned the stopping point of my training and...I wonder if she's still there? Has it been minutes for her or...or days?"

"I wouldn't think about that," Anais said, though she knew her words would probably mean very little to him right now. "Why don't you tell me about her? Your, uh, your girlfriend? I won't get to meet her so...what's she like?"

Despite the situation, Barry smiled to himself when he got to thinking of the answer. "Belén is...incredible. She's amazing. She's a metahuman-"

"A speedster too?" Anais curiously guessed and became even more curious when Barry shook his head.

"She's a botanical metahuman. She controls all plant life but she emphasizes a lot on azaleas, it's why calls herself ' _the Azalea_ '."

"Those are poisonous flowers."

" _Yeah_ ," Barry agreed with a nod. "It's part of her powers so-"

"Don't piss her off, got it," Anais chuckled.

"She's really great, though. She cares a _lot_ about her meta community and she always tries to show them that the Azalea is there to help them whenever they need it. And when she's not being a metahuman, she's this fantastic woman who loves to write and aerial dance and, recently bake amaretti cookies."

"Chocolate?"

"Yeah!"

Anais smiled silently.

"She's, uh, she's been having some trouble lately. We've met other doppelgangers, you know? And hers is a scientist, and... _not_ nice." Barry would once again choose to omit some of the uglier parts of the story. "Belén likes to think of herself as the 'runt' of her doppelgangers because she's not a scientist. She's 'just' a reporter."

"What? I'm sure she's great!"

"She is. She's a reporter, or...was. She's suspended because she published an article that she didn't get approval on."

"Why would she do something like that?"

A soft smile spread across Barry's face. "Because people needed help and that's what my Bells does. She wrote an article specifically for her botanical metahuman community and she was suspended for it. But people are backing her article up so I just _know_ that there'll be some justice for her. It's only fair."

"Well, she does sound amazing," Anais folded her arms over her chest, "And, uh, I'm so sorry I won't go to the wedding." Barry blushed red and looked away. "But she sounds like somebody CatCo. would love to have."

"Belén working for Cat Grant?" Barry cocked his head to the side. He was truly unable to see how that would work out. "I just really wish I could get back to her."

Anais watched him slowly fall into his glum state, a rightful response given his situation.

 _I shouldn't do it..._

But Barry looked so upset and it was partly her fault for making him talk about his girlfriend...

 _Ah screw it, you're already in trouble anyways!_

~0~

The next day, Barry was still not having much luck with a concrete way of getting home. He had one idea that he shared with the others and since they had nothing much to go by on, they decided to give it a try that afternoon.

Anaís was leading Barry down the DEO hallway in quite a hurry, even for a speedster. It was early in the morning, really early that only a few DEO employees had clocked on, but it didn't matter for Barry. He hadn't slept at all anyways. Spending the night on this Earth meant that he still didn't have a way back home. So whatever plan Anais had going on, Barry just let it happen because he really had nothing else going on. Plus, she seemed very cheery for some reason.

"Anais, where are you taking me exactly?" He finally asked when the curiosity got the best of him.

Anais was too giggly for this to be DEO related. "My parents are here and they wanted to meet you!"

"What? Why?"

Anais whirled around, forcing Barry to crash into her since he'd been right behind her. "Because I told them all about you. So, a warning: I told them everything! But don't worry, they're really good at keeping secrets. I mean they kept me a secret from the world and they basically keep themselves from the world too so really, it's like their whole main thing!"

"O...kay…" Barry never knew that he would find somebody who could talk faster than Belén but Anais was sure tempting him to give her the title.

Anais stopped suddenly again and turned around. "So a little bit about them. Um, they're scientists. They, uh, they adopted me after the DEO found me and they've been looking after me ever since. They're completely human but they've tried helping me use my powers safely. They're intelligent beyond belief. If anyone can get you home, it's them. And believe me, they want to. They understand you."

"That's very kind of them," Barry nodded, truly grateful because he honestly didn't know what he would do if he had to spend another night here.

"No, Barry, uh...they _really_ understand you," Anais' expression turned serious fast, her eyes boring into Barry's in a way that made the speedster shift.

"What do you mean?"

Anais opened her mouth to seemingly explain but closed it when she got a better idea. "I'll just let them explain." She reached back for the doorknob and motioned him to follow her in. "Mom! Dad! Do you have the tachyon…"

There were two adults in the room, their backs to them, and they were bickering

"No, you idiot! I told you not to!" the woman was frantically gesturing to the bowl on a table near them.

"Are you - _what_ did you call me!?" the man was scarfing down something in his mouth because Barry was sure it sounded like he was quickly trying to chew something.

"You're a child! I told you _not_ to bite the amarettis until your daughter showed up!"

Anais sighed. "And they're _embarrassing_. They're _really_ embarrassing." Barry smiled at her while she looked absolutely mortified. "Mom! Dad!" She hissed at her parents and fortunately stopped their bickering. "Jesus, you just can't be normal, can you!?"

"It was your father's fault!" Anais' mother huffed, smacking her husband's arm. "We're trying to make a good impression!"

Barry nearly keeled over when she turned around, even more so when both of them had faced them. Beside him, Anais struggled not to laugh...even though she _really_ wanted to.

As it turned out, Anais' parents were _very_ familiar.

"Barry, I'd like you to meet my parents," Anais walked over to the pair, moving behind them to then squeeze her way between them. "But you already know them."

Barry _did_. Because her 'adoptive parents' turned out to be his doppelganger...and Belén's. An _older_ version of their doppelgangers. Suddenly, many things made sense. Anais' last name? Cat had said it! He was an idiot, he really was.

"Hello Barry," the older Belén - or simply Belén - greeted softly. "Feels like it's been ages…"

Barry's doppelganger huffed at the comment. "I'm not _that_ old!"

"You guys are freaking him out, shush," Anais tried to say but her mother's eyes narrowed down on her. Barry recognized that look and couldn't help but wonder if that'd be the look his Belén would one day give to a child of theirs.

"Don't you shush me!"

"Sorry Mom,"Anais' eyes widened and lowered to the ground.

"Mom…" Barry repeated with a small, confused, smile. "Anais... _what_ is going on!?"

"Exactly what you see," Anais shrugged. "Meet my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, special DEO scientists that only a select few know about. It's why you couldn't find them on a public search engine. Nobody really knows them."

"But it's...it's _you_ …" Barry pointed at his doppelganger. "I've _met_ another you but you were...we were the same age!"

"Right, the multiverse theory," Earth 38 Barry nodded with a hum. "You know Cisco talks about that a lot but we never really tested it out."

"Cisco…" Barry laughed. "You have Cisco!"

"My godfather!" Anais exclaimed. "And my godmother is Caitlin! You mentioned her too!"

"You're scaring him," Belén put a hand over Anais' shoulder. She gave the young Barry a soft smile, just like before. "I'm sorry, our daughter tends to get a little bit overexcited. But it is very nice to meet you, well...this version of you."

"Me too…" Barry was in a sort of trance as he studied them from head to toe.

His doppelganger was exactly like him except for the peeking wrinkles here and there on his face. His eyes were the same shade of hazel green but Barry could see the extra years in them. His dark hair was still sticking up like his own was, and he even dressed the same. A burgundy sweater with the checked blue and white collars sticking out with dark pants. The one stark difference though was the wedding band on this Barry's finger that Belén was also wearing.

Barry's eyes flickered to Belén's doppelganger.

Her face was framed by curly, light brown hair but...with the signature ombre blonde tips. Her curly mess of a hair was pulled up into a bun with some stray curls left sticking out. Just like Barry's doppelganger, her chocolate brown eyes were layered with years and experience. She was dressed in a loose white blouse and dark slacks. One more difference were the thin pink glasses in front of her eyes. But she wore the wedding band...

 _Man_ , his doppelgangers seemed to be better at the game than him. Earth 2 may thoroughly suck but his doppelganger had managed to marry his Belén too. Was _he_ doing this wrong!?

"I'm old, aren't I?" Belén presumed that's where his thoughts had gone too. She nervously laughed and brought a hand to push her glasses up. "I bet the younger me can still see and doesn't have wrinkles."

"No, you're...you're just as beautiful, Bells," Barry smiled at her, his words had come out like a blurt and it was all true.

"Hey that's my wife you're talking to," his doppelganger sarcastically snapped.

"Shush," Belén waved him off. "If he wants to call me beautiful then you let him."

Her husband rolled his eyes then flashed Barry a sharp look. "Does she have a huge ego in your world? Because I don't know how to turn it off and I have been looking for the off button for 23 years now."

Barry's eyes widened and his mouth almost hit the ground. "Twenty years?" he repeated. His doppelganger nodded but Belén was too busy glaring at him to answer Barry's question. "You've been married for 23 years?"

"Well, 20 years but we've known each for 23," Earth 38 Barry reached for his wife's hand, forcing Anais to step back so they could interlock hands. "You know, our anniversary is coming up…"

"Hmm, it is," Belén agreed, blushing.

"Can we not do this right now?" Anais groaned, bringing a hand to cover her face. "Seriously."

"Anais, why didn't you tell me this?" Barry was at a loss for a proper word to describe what he felt right now.

Anais dropped her hand from her face, almost laughing if her parents weren't right there. "If had I told you ' _oh yeah I know you, you're my adoptive Dad on this world_ ' it would have freaked you out."

Barry opened his mouth to argue but...but it was a very good point. He _had_ met his other doppelganger and Belén but it wasn't the same learning they were only married to 'they were married _and_ they had an adopted child'.

"But these are them," Anais looked between her parents with a big grin on her face. "They're my Mom and Dad and...if your Belén is anything like my Mom is then I _know_ she's the best."

"Every version of me is the best, sweetie," Belén shrugged casually, completely missing her husband mouth ' _S_ _ee? Ego.'_ at Barry. "But after what Anais told us about you, Barry, and my doppelganger...we were very impressed. You two sound incredible."

"I'm just a bit stuck on the 'got struck by lightning' part," Earth 38 Barry remarked, bringing his arms over one another. "That...that sounds like it would hurt."

"It _did_ ," Barry assured him with a shudder.

"But of course only my husband could be a superhero," Belén remarked, sending her husband a dreamy smile.

"And my wife had to be right beside me," Earth 38 Barry brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss.

Anais audibly groaned and rubbed her face. "I swear to God, Barry-" she dropped her hands to shoot the Earth 1 counterpart a glare, "-if you do this to your own child I _will_ find a way to cross worlds and smack you! It is _unbearable_!"

Barry's eyebrows shot up at the same time his doppelganger grabbed Anais' arm to scold her. "Don't talk to him like that! He's your Dad-"

"I'm really not," Barry tried to say but his words were a bit out of reach on account of the mad warmth he felt on his face.

"Oh, he's not even married, Dad!" Anais pulled her arm out of her father's grip.

"Really?" Earth 38 Barry blinked and after Anais nodded, he shot his doppelganger a look. "Kinda late there then."

"No he's not, be quiet! The two of you!" Belén scolded them both and sighed. "This is what I deal with." She then offered the younger Barry another soft smile. They seemed to be a big part of her personality and they fit her so well. "There is no rush. I imagine every world has us at different paces."

"So you just assume that every version of you is going to end up with each other?" Anais scoffed, intending on riling them up but Earth 1 Barry shut down the game without even noticing.

"I believe that we would meet each other in any world." Barry felt his heart ache for his Belén. Those were the words they said to each other back when he was debating whether or not to go back in time to save his mother. In his indecisive state, Belén had asked him if he believed that they would meet each other again regardless of the time lines. Barry knew without a moment's thought that they would. They belonged to each other in every world, no matter if they were a scientist and a reporter, or evil and good, or...a pair who had to raise an alien hybrid. They were each other's.

Belén smiled at the silent doppelganger. She side-glanced her husband, sharing the same knowing smile with him. The only one who didn't quite understand was Anais.

"Barry, are you okay?" her soft voice pulled Barry out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," Barry cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just...I just really miss home, you know?"

"Misses Belén," his doppelganger said. Barry wouldn't agree out loud but he was sure his face said it all for him. "I'd go crazy if I was stuck in another world... _which_ -" he pointed a finger in the air, "-is why this was a rush job." He turned around and pulled cloth from the tachyon device Anais had taken from Barry.

"My tachyon device!" Barry exclaimed while his doppelganger gave it a last study.

"Interesting device, though can't say it doesn't scare me a bit," he handed the device over to Barry. "But we got it working again."

Barry's eyes lit up at the news. "Seriously!?"

"Yeah, just jumpstart it with your speed, obviously, and you can use maybe Anais' or Kara's speed as well to help bring the energy levels up when you're running. Once you do that, you should be able to cross worlds again. Just try to get into the right one this time."

" _Yeah_ ," Barry gladly held onto the tachyon device and looked at his doppelganger and Belén. "Thank you. I really need to get home."

"Oh, here!" Belén reached a hand into the bowl that she and her husband were bickering over earlier and pulled out a familiar chocolate cookie. "

Barry's heart skipped a jolt when he took the chocolate amaretti from Belén. "You make these too?"

"Hey! Those are mine!" Anais frowned. "You always make those for me!"

Belén nodded at Anais to answer Barry's question. "They're my specialty. And-" she glanced at Anais, "-you would've had more if your father hadn't ate most of them!"

"Dad!" Anais shot her father a look.

"They're good!"

Barry smiled and took a bite of the cookie. He really _did_ love them. "My Bells just started making these," he shared once he swallowed the first bite. "She thinks she could make them better but I think they're delicious!"

"Yeah, they were a bit tricky for me too in the beginning. But we get them, especially when I have a very hungry pair over there," she nodded her head at her husband and daughter.

"Hey!" the two went in the same offended tone.

"Thanks," Barry said and laughed when Belén offered him another cookie.

"For the ride home," she winked.

Barry studied her for a minute before he would take the cookie. A part of him wondered if this is what Earth 2 Belén - Datura - would've been like if she hadn't gotten sick. Would she be as happy as she looked right now?

"I'm old, I know," Belén chuckled nervously again, lowering her gaze with a misplaced embarrassment.

"No," Barry whispered. "You are beautiful in _any_ world. If you ever marry me, I would be the luckiest man alive."

Belén smiled at him with a light 'aw' slipping out. "Go on home, Barry. And, uh, pass on a little message to my doppelganger for me, yeah?" Barry nodded. "Even if she's not a scientist, she is the best of us all, not to mention the bravest. To fight every day against metas and willingly put her job at risk for people she doesn't even know... _that_ is bravery. She is no 'runt' of the litter. She's just the best." She leaned forwards and pressed a small kiss to Barry's cheek. "Goodbye Barry."

Barry stepped back with his tachyon device and watched his doppelganger wrap an arm around Belén's waist. Belén raised her hand to touch her husband's face - letting Barry once again catch sight of her wedding band - and kissed his cheek as well. They looked so _happy_ together. He hoped one day that could be him and his Belén too, but for right now...he needed to go see her.

He met Anais' face and gave her a nod. She grinned with understanding. It was time to go home.

~ 0 ~

Out in the same grassy field that Barry had come to with Kara was now the chosen area to get him back home. Supergirl led the way but almost had to stop twice to laugh when she heard the story of Anais's parents.

"It's really not that funny," Barry mumbled and took lead when Kara stopped to put her hands on her knees and laugh.

"Can I - can I get pictures, please?" Kara glanced at Anais with a hopeful look on her face.

"They'll be home for Thanksgiving, promise!" Anais laughed with her.

"Can we _please_?" Barry did his best not to snap. "I would really like to get home."

"Right, to see my Mom," Anais snorted into a new round of laughter.

"Fine, yes, whatever!" Barry rolled his eyes, but he wasn't very irritated. Each time Anais called him or Belén 'Mom' and 'Dad'. It actually made his face really warm.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Anais said after he got pretty quiet, though she misunderstood why. "You're not actually mad, are you? I mean...yeah, I probably should have told you sooner but I was a little nervous. I've grown up with these people and you can't believe how strange it is meeting a younger version of my Dad in our secret base."

Kara crinkled her nose beside her. That _had_ to be strange.

"I always see my Dad as what he is: my _Dad_. He's taken care of me. He read me bedtime stories, _introduced_ me _to_ the concept of bedtime stories. He's-he's brought me to Disneyland and he had to learn how to play soccer because _I_ wanted to play and Mom and I creamed him in all our matches." As she said all these words, Barry's lips curved into a deep smile. "You're my Dad. My birth name is Anais Mjorkland but the world knows me as Anais Allen, your daughter. I'm sorry if that's... that's weird…"

"Weird is a good word but...it's also nice," Barry cleared his throat. "It's like a glimpse into my future."

"Well, without the alien part, right?" Kara chuckled but abruptly stopped when she remembered he had already told them there wasn't a version of Kara nor Anais on his world. "If there's no Anais over there, then what would that-"

"They'd have their own kid, _duh_ ," Anais shook her head.

If Barry had been red before, now he was a deep scarlet. _Oh God, I **really** gotta get home_.

"So what are we meant to do, then?" Kara asked, suspecting this was a topic that Barry didn't want to talk to with _them_.

"It's simple. We just combine our speed and basically get to throw Barry like a ragdoll in the air," Anais smirked at him.

"Ha, ha," Barry rolled his eyes. "Technically, if you throw me forward at your fastest, then I break the dimensional barrier and get back home."

"I like the way I said it instead," Anais looked at Kara to see if she was on board. "You fly and we run."

"Yeah, I think that would work best," Kara agreed. "We could treat it as a race," she suddenly smirked.

Barry laughed. "Think you can keep up, Girl of Steel?" his eyes flickered over to Anais. "Golden Girl?"

Anais shook her head and warned him, "I'm _Solar_."

Barry smiled at her. She had the same proud face he had when he first used his meta name. "I like it," he told her. She beamed in return. "And you know, maybe you can keep Golden Girl as a nickname? Like Girl of Steel?" He gestured to Kara who dramatically bowed in return.

"Alright," Kara still sneaked in a laugh afterwards. She turned to Barry and offered him a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Barry Allen."

"I'm really gonna miss you too, Kara Danvers," Barry hugged her back. "Or Kara Zor-El. Which is your alien name. Because you're an alien which I think is very cool. I think James Olsen thinks so, too."

Kara paled and Anais laughed.

"Right!?" Anais clapped her hands together.

Kara looked between the two in quite horror. "Why are you saying that!?"

"For real?" Anais gave Kara an incredulous look.

"You remember before when I told you to take things slow?" Barry asked Kara. "That's good advice for a superhero, lousy advice for two people who really like each other. Maybe it's time to speed things up."

Kara saw Anais fiercely nodding and smacked a hand over her forehead. "Yeah, alright, maybe…"

"Thank God," Anais mumbled before she went to hug Barry. "Bye young-Dad."

"Don't call me that…" Barry crinkled his nose as he pulled away from her.

"I don't think I'll be able to stop." she smiled. "But also say hi to young-Mom for me."

"Can do," Barry nodded. "And keep training, alright? It'll be hard sometimes but I know you can do it."

"Spoken like a 'Dad'," Anais chuckled but hugged him again. "Thanks."

"Let's do this?" Kara called and made a gesture for them to take their spots. She rose into the air on Barry's right while Anais stood to his left.

"On my count," Barry warned the two women. "One...two..."

"Three!" Anais exclaimed and took off, forcing Barry and Kara to chase after her. As soon as his legs moved, Barry felt the tachyon device on him whir alive which he hoped meant things were about to work out for him. A blue vortex came to life in midair suddenly and before Barry knew it Kara and Anais grabbed his arms and flung him directly into it.

Both blondes skidded to a stop on ground and beamed almost identically as the portal disappeared.

"Goodbye, Dad," Anais sighed contently...and Kara burst into laughter.

~ 0 ~

Barry felt like he'd gone in and out of the portal even quicker than before, because one moment he saw grassy plan and the next he saw the familiar building of his streets... _his_ city.

'No, Cisco, you're not listening!' Belén's voice started filling Barry's ear comm. that had come to life now that he was back on his Earth. 'Barry's gone! There was a portal!'

'What portal!?' Cisco cried from the other end.

'Do you think we opened up another breach?' Caitlin asked with concern.

Belén was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk where Barry was supposed to be stopping, but for the past five minutes neither Cisco nor Caitlin listened to her. "Seriously! There was a-a blue portal! A breach! A-"

But Barry had come by and swept her off her feet. "I'm here! Guys, I'm fine!" Barry assured the two before coming to a stop in the outskirts of the city. He was still having trouble stopping after running _that_ fast.

He set Belén on her feet and was grateful that she didn't catch on fire like Kara had. She was a bit disoriented from the sudden trip but once her vision adjusted and she saw Barry, she beamed. "Oh thank God! I saw you disappear and-and there was this portal - I mean breach! It was a breach wasn't it!? It had to be-"

Barry had slid his hands over her face to kiss her. Despite her numerous questions, Belén gladly accepted his kiss and was pretty dazed when Barry pulled away.

"Hi..." Belén whispered breathlessly, her eyes fluttering open.

Barry was over-joyously smiling at her, but after not seeing her - not being in the same world with her - there was nothing else he could do but that. Belén knew straightaway that something happened to him but she wasn't going to ask him questions right now. She instead reached for his cowl and gently helped him pull it off.

"Hi." Barry's mind filled with everything he'd seen on Earth 38 and most prominently _the Allens_ he had met. "Belén, I love you."

Belén smiled out of confusion but she would never turn away an opportunity to tell him that she loved him. "I love you too," she brought her hands to rest on his cheeks. They felt a bit warm and she suspected that it wasn't out of the running he did. There was something new in his eyes she couldn't quite place.

"No, I...I _love_ you," Barry reiterated, although he wouldn't blame her if she couldn't understand where this new layer of feelings had come from. After meeting a version of her who had grown older with _him_ , there was no way he could love Belén like he used to. He loved her _more_ , with a new intensity that she might not feel just yet, but hopefully one day would.

Barry was right, Belén didn't quite capture the new intensity he felt but she did know that there was something new in his love. She nodded lightly and sweetly kissed him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Anais Allen-Mjorkland, my third OC for Arrowverse 1. And I'm calling it Arrowverse 1 because I have another Flash OC in the works in an entire new Arrowverse. What did you guys think of her!? And how about that little surprise there with her 'parents'? ;)

I think technically speaking, I have made Anais the youngest of my Arrowverse OCs since she's 23 in this chapter (and at the start of her story). Belén is 26 right now and Graciela (my Legends of Tomorrow OC) is in her thirties. So Anais is like my baby girl of Arrowverse !


	26. The Pressure's On

When Barry was truly back in his own world, he told Belén everything that'd happened to him. He told her about the other world, National City, Supergirl... _Anais_. Even if he hadn't been a speedster, Barry would've still rambled at light speed trying to retell the entire story from the moment he stepped foot into Earth 38 and the moment he returned.

Luckily, Belén knew him. She didn't interrupt his story; she listened from beginning to end. She would just snuggle closer to him each time he shifted as he made wild gestures during his story telling. "So you and I are _married_ in this Earth-38 world and...and we adopted an-an... _alien_ child?" Her face was warm and red just at the thought of it.

Barry's face was just as red as Belén's. He stared at the ceiling until it would come down a bit. "We adopted Anais when she was a child. She's our daughter - well, our doppelganger's daughter."

"Well, she sounds amazing," Belén tilted her head up at him, smiling when he finally met her gaze. "And it's not just cos she's an alien. It seems like our doppelganger raised her well, loved her right." She couldn't imagine ever doing something like that but then again she hadn't really imagined herself being a mother. Those thoughts were still pretty far away.

"I wish you could've seen her," Barry lamented the fact that would probably never happen.

Belén wished the same but she wouldn't dwell on the fact it would never happen. It was a nice world but it wasn't _their_ world. They would one day, hopefully, have something similar but their own. "Well, I could do without seeing an _older_ me," she admitted with a chuckle. "Seriously, I'm over _40_? How terrible!"

Yet Barry smiled from ear to ear. "You were hot."

"You don't have to kiss up, you already live with me and you get to share my bed," she rolled her eyes and made to turn away from him but he locked an arm around her waist, keeping her right where she was.

"I mean it," he looked down at her. "I get the feeling that no matter what version of you I meet, I'll always love them."

"But no more than _me_ , right?"

Barry brought his hand up to her soft hair and ran his fingers through it. "You're _my_ Bells. That other Barry got to marry his Bells and grow older with her, _I_ want that opportunity too." He could vividly remember the way his doppelganger looked at his wife, the gentle touches they shared, they way they acted with each other. He would love to reach where they were, albeit at their own pace.

"And they were happy?" Belén asked after spending a few minutes in calm silence. "You know, despite all the alien nonsense they obviously go through?"

"Yeah," Barry grinned within the second. "She makes the chocolate amaretti cookies you do and he loves them. Anais was upset because he almost ate the entire batch that her mother brought."

Belén felt a warm tingle just hearing the word ' _mother_ ', but she did laugh at the cookie part. "Really?"

"Yup, I think that every Barry Allen in the multiverse loves chocolate amaretti cookies baked by Belén Palayta."

"Hm, well I'm sorry _my_ batches aren't quite there yet. I imagine my doppelganger makes them better?"

"Yours are just as good too, Bells, I promise," Barry kissed the top of her head. "In fact, I wouldn't be opposed if you decided to make another batch today."

Belén playfully rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you already live with me, you clearly get me in every other world...you _don't_ have to keep kissing up."

Now it was Barry's turn to roll his eyes. He shifted on the bed to face her sarcastic face. "I _do_ love you, Belén. You have no idea what it was like seeing that other world, _another_ world where you and I are married."

There was a brief grim look on Belén's face when she thought of Earth 2. "Well, it didn't quite turn out to be all sunshine with our Earth 2 doppelgangers."

"One Earth, one different version," Barry said as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "But even then, it's true that we'd meet in any and every world."

Belén could smile at that. "It does seem that way, huh?" Their theoretical question of whether they would meet each other in a different timeline turned out to be _real_. It brought a whole new warmth to her body, a happy warmth that she relished in. No matter what world they were in, they really _would_ meet each other and fall in love. She draped an arm over Barry's shoulder and pecked his lips. "I love you my singing scientist."

"My dancer in the air," Barry chuckled as he gave her another kiss. He'd taken to watching her during her aerial dancing practices lately and he honestly felt like he would never get over her talent. "My beautiful dance in the air," he started peppering her face with kisses, making her laugh. He lowered his arms to her waist and pulled her body against his. He felt like kissing her for a much longer time.

~0~

' _I am truly content with your decisions as of late, Belén_ ," the Green's voice filled the air around Belén. She rolled her eyes when it continued to go on and on about her latest choices regarding botanical metas, knowing exactly where he was headed with one precise decision she made. " _Belén, you and Datura are doppelgangers who should have been working together from the very start."_

"Kinda hard to do when she's been trying to kill me this whole time!" Belén exclaimed in full-on irritation. She was getting real tired of the Green acting as if this wasn't a fact. "And let's just be clear that I'm helping her because of humanity reasons. I nor like her, nor tolerate her."

" _You were always going to be one of my most prominent child,"_ the Green said as if Belén hadn't said her last statement. " _The truth is, you **and** Datura **are** my most prominent children." _Belén scoffed but the Green went on. " _Belén, you and Datura **will** be intertwined for a long time. She is your doppelganger and while her choices are questionable, she will ultimately make sacrifices even **she** never saw coming."_

Once again, Belén scoffed. She folded her arms and glared at the wide open forest. "And what's that supposed to mean to me? Is that why I should forgive her for everything she's done so far?"

" _No. It is only to remind you that despite the different worlds you both grew up in, the different versions of people you had around you, Datura will return to her fundamental core in the end. She **is** you, _Belén, just as **you** are **her**."

Belén rolled her eyes. "You know Barry just got back from another world where I don't have botanical powers. She's a scientist, and she's living nice and happily with her husband and their adoptive daughter. Are you telling me that evil, murderous Datura is just like her? And that Earth 38 Belén is just like Datura?"

"Choosing to ignore my words is not wise. _The truth is when Time calls, you and Datura will work together. It's an inevitable event and when the job is finished, you will look back on the days of the Azalea fighting Datura, thinking of how times have changed and how it changed both of you."_

Belén snorted and laughed _thoroughly_. "Right. The day I work with Datura is the day pigs will fly. I am choosing to help her but I don't expect promising results. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have to go converse with other botanical metas looking to _hide_ from the very meta you foolishly think might be redeemable."

She thought for a moment that the Green would prevent her from walking away but she was able to make it to the spot where more botanical metas were gathering. She smiled at the group who already spoke so easily to each other; they were comfortable with each other despite the short amount of time they'd met.

"Hey, they're pretty much ready," Black Orchid was amongst the group, waiting for the Azalea to make her appearance. Shivhan had taken her role serious in guiding the newer metas in the world and Belén honestly didn't know what she'd do without her. She herself didn't know the Green so well. They all had things to learn.

"Alright," Belén called for the group only once and had the entire place silent for her. That was still pretty weird but Shivhan said it was normal that they would listen to her without protest. "Today we're just going to keep doing what we've been doing. We'll keep practicing and training, getting to know each of our powers because the more you know it, the more control you have over it. I'm curious, and you don't really have to answer, but...has anyone experienced any...darker sides of your powers?" Belén's eyes scrutinized as many of the metas as she could to get an idea but in the end she had full-fledged answers.

"If you mean have we lost control then yeah," a younger female meta had raised her hand. She couldn't be older than sixteen, least that's what Shivhan had guessed the first time they met her. She was one of the metas who didn't have a suit but, like everyone in the group, her face was covered with a mask of vines. "I-I have like this...this other side of me that comes out without me wanting it. It's like...it's like _it_ is in control of me. It's why I ran away from home. I was afraid that I'd hurt my family."

"I'm sorry you felt like you had to do that," Belén sympathetically looked at the girl. "The same thing happened to me, and I'm sure it's happened or is _still_ happening to more of you. It's okay if you don't want to share but I would like to work with you, even if it's one-on-one. That other side of your powers you feel? It's _not_ 'another side', it's _part_ of your powers."

"But it feels _wrong_ ," the girl brought her arms over her chest and shuddered. "I'm supposed to be connected to nature but instead this side makes me a reckless, _dangerous_ meta. Not to mention it's what can get me outed and make me an easier target for Datura. I don't want it."

"You saying that, is only gonna make it worse," Shivhan flatly said, making Belén roll her eyes. Their training styles differed even in their personalities. Shivhan wasn't the type of cover up the clear dangers of things while Belén preferred to ease the newer metas into the truth. "The Azalea went through the same thing, so why don't you be that first one-on-one?"

"I guess," the girl shrugged.

Belén offered the girl a warm smile as she motioned for the girl to follow. "C'mon."

Shivhan waited for the two to be gone enough to where they wouldn't hear, to where _Belén_ wouldn't hear. "K, anyone else who has the same problem as that girl _needs_ to meet with the Azalea at some point. You don't want to be outed because you couldn't control your powers."

"Easy for you to say," muttered a young man. "It'll take eons for us to learn how to control our powers."

"It doesn't have to," Shivhan rolled her eyes. "That's why the Azalea is doing this - that's why that reporter made the article."

"You mean the reporter who got fired over it?" went another man who appeared slightly older than the first. It was hard to tell when everyone was wearing their masks.

"Yeah," Shivhan crossed her arms, her tone taking on a tinge warning the others to watch their next words.

"I heard the same thing," a blonde woman said, shaking her head. "Is that really true? Did she get fired because she published the article for us?"

"She's not fired but...she could be," Shivhan looked from one meta to the next and was pleased to see that they had the decency to feel a little guilty. "But it doesn't have to end like that. Now the Azalea cannot get involved in what I'm thinking of because it's an established fact that she knows the reporter. It would look like she pulled some strings for the civilian."

"What do you mean?" the older man from before asked.

"This reporter has risked her life countless times to help the metahuman community and this last article she published is what brought all of _you_ to this place. Without her and that article, you would all still be clueless about your origins."

"So what do you want us to do?" the blonde woman genuinely smiled, as did many of the others.

~ 0 ~

"So your powers are kind of interesting because you can willingly change anything into plant matter," Belén sounded just as awed as she truly was. It was the first time she met a botanical meta with that specific ability and the fact this girl, who was so young, already had a hold on those powers was amazing.

But it also meant she was an easy target for Datura and since the girl held a special type of power that could, possibly, be linked to what Datura would need to survive, it was urgent for the girl to get a tighter grip on her powers.

"Sounds cool but it's not," the girl said with a flat tone. "I accidentally changed my cat into a frikin mess of vines. I didn't know what to do so I told my Mom that he ran away." She shook her head and sighed. "I'm a mess."

"No, you're not. You just need to train more," Belén said. "Now, first thing's first, what can I call you?"

"What, like...my meta name? Or my real name?"

"It's your choice."

"Kinsley. That's my real name. I don't...really have a meta name," Kinsley awkwardly shrugged her shoulders. "I...don't really have _anything_ but my name actually."

"It's nice to meet you Kinsley," Belén offered the girl another kind smile.

"Believe me, it's _really_ good to meet _you_ ," Kinsley's eyes slightly widened, making Belén chuckle. "I have read everything about you, I've watched you fight. You're _good_."

"If I _am_ then it's because I've practiced and I've had some really good friends helping me. It's what I'd like to do for you and anyone else who wants it."

"Why? I mean, why bother teaching someone like _me_?" Kinsley gestured to herself. Her outfit was ruddy enough, showing signs that she truly had been on the run and no doubt on the streets for a while. "I'm no one important. So what if Datura finds me?"

For a moment, Belén wondered if _that_ was how she sounded to the others when she made comments like that about herself. If it was, then she truly understood now how ridiculous it could sound. Sure, she didn't know Kinsley but she didn't have to in order to know that she had great power and was incredibly smart. She _had_ been one of the first metas to get into the Green after the article was published.

"It _matters_ because the world needs a Kinsley in it," Belén walked up to the girl and put her hands over her shoulders. "My Dad used to tell me the same thing when I put myself down and I didn't really believe him, but now I do. You don't know all that you might do for this world in the future, and you'll never know if you don't let yourself grow as a person and a meta."

"You sound like a _mom_ ," Kinsley playfully rolled her eyes and missed Belén's reddened blush on the parts of her exposed face. "Hey," Kinsley suddenly garnered a smirk, " _Are_ you a Mom? Is the Azalea a Mom!?"

"God no!" Belén waved her off and walked a few steps away. "Let the record show that I am not a mother and that I'm just here to help you train. So-" she clapped her hands together, "-let's see what we're working with."

~ 0 ~

When Iris walked into the cortex, she was mighty surprised to find a gleeful Barry while Caitlin and Cisco looked ready to bury their heads in the piles of papers on the desk. " _What_ is going on?"

Cisco didn't answer with words but instead with a groan. "Mr. Allen over here thinks we can crack the code to get back to Earth 2 _today_!"

"I did not say today!" Barry frowned at him. "I just said if we could work on it to get some progress-"

"Yeah, yeah," Cisco waved him off.

Iris' eyebrows raised but if she was being honest, and she would be, she had zero interest in continuing with that conversation. She turned to Caitlin instead to talk about why she came. "Caitlin, are you free tonight?"

"Uh, yeah..." Caitlin slowly nodded. "Why?"

"I'm trying to do this girls' night out to sort of help cheer up Belén. It's stupid but it's all I got at this point."

"Any word what the verdict is going to be?" Barry came up to the desk, forgetting all the work they had spread out around them.

Iris shook her head. "No." She felt terrible seeing his face drop, just like when Belén would 'casually' ask the same question. There truly was no obvious sign of what direction CC Pictures would take concerning Belén's job status. "How is she?"

Barry shrugged. "I mean...she's just being Bells. She's focusing entirely on the Green and the metas she's managed to meet through the article. She and Shivhan are in the greenroom right now."

"At least she managed to do what she wanted," Iris pointed out. Belén made it very clear that _she_ was ecstatic to see the article working. "So girls' night...?" she turned a hopeful glance on Caitlin. "I'm trying to get Nina too and it should be no problem getting Shivhan."

"Why? You got booze?" Cisco asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," Iris waved him off.

"I'd love to, Iris," Caitlin smiled.

Iris beamed. "Great! You-" she pointed at Barry, "-are going to stay at my Dad's place because girls' night is going to be at Belén's."

Barry rolled his eyes but since it was for Belén's well-being, he wouldn't protest. "Fine."

"Eight p.m," Iris told Caitlin before taking off.

~ 0 ~

Belén returned from the Green to discover Iris' plans sent to her in a quick text, the same text that Shivhan had on her phone.

"Cool, _booze_ ," Shivhan punched the air with a fist. "I'm in!"

Belén sighed. She knew there was no talking Iris out of it. She appreciated the attempt of 'cheering her up' but she honestly didn't see the point of it. She _wasn't_ sad. She wasn't _upset_. She stood by her choice whether or not the article did its thing...and it had.

"I say just have fun with it," Barry told her while they watched Caitlin draw blood from Belén's arm. "But, uh, not _too_ much fun. Don't want you doing things you'll regret."

"Yeah, right," Belén rolled her eyes while Caitlin chuckled. She looked at the brunette just as the needle stopped poking her arm. "So, are we done with that?"

"Ow," Belén winced when Barry pulled the needle out from her forearm. She watched him carefully bring the new syringe with her blood to a table. "Is this really necessary to save her ass?"

"Yes. Your DNA is the basis for the cure so this is where we need to start," Caitlin carefully moved the syringe over to a table.

"Okay, but why do I have to do this _twice_?" Came Belén's grumbling question. Caitlin had first extracted a blood sample while Belén was in her "green state" and then proceeded to ask her to return to normal for a second withdrawal.

Barry patted Belén's hand, offering her a warm smile. "We need to focus on the differences between your two states and then compare them to Datura's."

"Wouldn't that mean you need some of her blood too?"

"Yeah, but...since we haven't seen her yet, we'll start with you."

"How romantic," Belén playfully rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she still couldn't get over the fact she was truly trying to help the evil doppelganger. "So, have you two thought about a way to get the breaches open again?"

" _Well_..." Caitlin turned around to fixate a sharp look on Barry. Yes, they had but it wasn't a very welcomed one.

"What I miss?" Belén blankly stared at the two until someone answered.

"I thought that maybe Cisco might be the key," Barry ultimately answered. Belén's eyes widened in shock. "I just thought that his doppelganger could do it-"

"Because he was _evil_ , did we forget that?"

"But his powers are the same as Cisco's so that means that Cisco _can_ do it!"

"So what did he say?" Belén asked even when she had a pretty good idea of how it all went down in her absence. Caitlin's face behind Barry confirmed it.

"He wasn't all that for it. And neither was Harry."

"Mm, shocker," Belén slid off the medbed. "So I guess I know what you'll be doing tonight: trying to convince Cisco to open a breach. Yeah, I'll _definitely_ take Iris' girl night out plans."

"Yeah," Barry released a breath. That would take a lot of convincing but he just knew that Cisco could do it if he really tried.

Belén would let him figure that out all on his own. She had other issues to resolve herself and right now Caitlin was holding onto one of them. "So this cure, how is it going to work exactly? Will I have to give blood like some transfusion or something? Or like... swapping things in general?"

"We'll figure out how to pass it on when we actually _have_ the cure," Caitlin smiled at her. "For now, we have to really study _your_ DNA. Although, I may have a theory that could really help us."

"What is it?" Barry was quick to ask. Leave it to Caitlin to help solve their problems quickly.

"Well, like I said, it's just a _theory_ right now but I was thinking about Belén's 'green side'. You had trouble controlling that part of your powers so maybe the way you got control over that side is what we might need to help Datura gain control of her powers."

"Is there like a specific gene for that, then?" Belén folded her arms over her chest. "Because it took a long time to get that under control and you're telling me this whole time I could've just let you switch it on?"

Caitlin shook her head with a light laugh slipping through. "Not exactly. It _could've_ been biological for you but it was more of the mind mixing in with that. I suspect Datura's case is a _lot_ more biological than the mindset. I'll have to really look into your blood before I keep making up more theories. The only other problem _right now_ is that we don't have any blood from Datura."

"I know Cait," Barry sighed. This wasn't the first time the subject was brought up and he had nothing for her. It was why they really needed to open up the breaches.

"Great, so we really need the breaches to open up soon," Belén said. "But even then, where are we going to get a blood sample from Datura? Every time we see her she's trying to kill us. You'd think she'd be more grateful that we're trying to save her life." _Oh. She's always busy trying to kill me._ Belén smirked. "Oh, wait a second. It would just be _hilarious_ if we got a blood sample from her without letting her know."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked with natural confusion.

"Let's say when we get the breaches open, Datura comes to fight me - which she really will - and I just happen to punch her little nose or something. I _can_ get her blood.

"I don't like the idea of you fighting her to get blood off her," Barry shook his head but Belén grabbed onto his hand with a mischievous grin on her face.

"But this time _I'll_ be one step ahead of her. I wouldn't be fighting her to win, I'd just be hitting her until I get blood. And I am _very_ willing to keep hitting her until she bleeds."

"Bells..."

"Oh shut it, I am trying to save her life so the least she could do is let me punch her nose!"

~ 0 ~

After much insistence - and there really had been a _lot_ of insistence - Cisco agreed to give the breach opening another go. He had tried it in the breach room of STAR Labs without success so of course Barry would come up with another alternative.

"You know, I can't think of a lot of guys who would prefer to go to an abandoned warehouse in search of a multidimensional portal instead of hanging out with his girlfriend," Cisco made sure to say loud and clear when Barry brought them inside a horrible, smelly warehouse.

Barry just rolled his eyes. "To be fair, Belén kicked me out. She's having a girl's night and I'm not allowed."

"Can I kick you out too?"

Barry sucked in a sharp breath and side-glanced his friend, none too pleased with his sarcasm. "Look, I know this is hard but we really need to find a way. And this-" he raised the handheld scanner he was holding onto, "-says that this area has the highest levels of residual trans-dimensional energy. We should be able to open the breach that used to be here." He walked into a long room, probably a room for dozens of people at one point, and came to a stop in the center when the scanner beeped again. "It's right here. This is it.

"For real? In this Patch Adams nightmare right here? Yeah. Love it," Cisco grumbled. It was a place of horror movies!

"All right. Look, dude, if this doesn't work, I'll stop asking you to do this, all right!"

Cisco would take that deal any day. "Fine," he exhaled deeply and struck a hand forwards, intending on letting out that power to open the breaches...but nothing happened. "What? Look, I can't do it!"

Barry frowned. There had to be something missing for this to keep failing!

And if he heard him, Harry strolled into the room. "That's right. You can't."

"What are you doing here?" Barry raised an eyebrow at him. "You said you weren't going to help!" Said... _screamed._

"I know what I said. But you're not gonna stop, are you?"

"No."

Harry inwardly groaned. Joe was right. Barry would keep doing stuff like this and get himself hurt or killed one day. He needed supervision, as did everyone else in the team. "Okay, Barry Allen, then I'm gonna do what I can to make sure you don't get killed." He came up to Cisco with a pair of black goggles for Cisco. "I recalibrated these to the electromagnetic frequency of this Earth. It should help you access enough of the trans-dimensional energy to manipulate it."

Cisco didn't look that impressed. Actually, he wasn't. "Just like Reverb," he muttered as hr took the goggles into his hands. "All I'm missing is the guyliner and the transformation's complete."

"Take 'em out for a spin!"

With a sigh, Cisco put the goggles on and tried again. He struck his fist forwards and this time, it was engulfed by a blue energy that sprouted into a _breach_. He had done it.

~0~

Zoom was in his lair, going crazy just _waiting_. He wasn't alone, though, for he still had his 'loyal' follower, although she was acting like her usual self.

A weary Datura leaned over a table. Her eyes struggled to stay open but she fought to keep them so. Across her was Zoom, perched at a chair waiting expectantly for her...and for something else. The two went hand in hand.

A small gasp slipped through Datura's lips. Her eyes flashed a menacing red and when she spoke, it was someone else's voice. "He's trying to open a breech."

Zoom stood up, pushed the chair out of his way, and stalked towards her. " _Where_?" he demanded to know.

There was a distant look on Datura's face as she focused on the spur of images in her head. The power was all too new for her and she was still struggling to keep it under control, but Zoom couldn't know. This one was actually taking a toll on her more than the others. She really _shouldn't_ be on the hunt for new abilities. Poison Ivy would tell her that.

"O-over by the old hospital…" she said and Zoom wasted not a second in speeding to the location.

As soon as she was alone, Datura deeply gasped (and struggled too). The redness from her eyes faded and she slowly came back as herself. She rubbed her gloved hand across her face and hope to God the weakness plaguing her was not as noticeable as she felt. Once Zoom found out she was progressively becoming useless, he would not hesitate to kill her.

~ 0 ~

Cisco sucked in a sharp breath when he started to feel the _true_ power of the breaches. He could feel it, creeping up from his fingertips, up his arms, to his head...to his _mind_. Suddenly, he ripped the goggles off him and the breach disappeared.

"No! What happened!?" Barry whirled around to Cisco. "You were doing it!"

But Cisco was dead scared of what he'd been doing. "No, no, no, no. I-I can't do this!"

"What-"

Cisco chucked the goggles back to Harry, shaking his head fervently. "Don't. Please, don't ask me to do this. Please!" He ran out of the room without looking back once.

~ 0 ~

"It's _mine_!" Shivhan exclaimed once she saw the bottle of wine Iris was bringing over to the living room.

"It's called 'sharing' Shivahn, geez," Iris cautiously set the bottle on the coffee table thinking that she might lose a hand if Shivhan decided to go for it.

"How did you work as a bartender?" Caitlin chuckled with amusement as Shivhan hurriedly poured herself a glass of wine.

"Flawlessly," the woman in question smirked as she saluted with her glass.

"I don't think I should be drinking," Belén apologized when Iris offered her a glass. "I'm undergoing certain medical tests..."

"What? Like pregnancy ones?" Shivhan carelessly asked but took _great_ pleasure when Belén's face flushed red.

"I _really_ hate you!"

Shivhan smirked. "It's just too easy sometimes," she told the others while Belén continued glaring daggers at her. "And plus, you _did_ tell us about that weird adopted alien child you have in another world."

"Yeah, now I'm regretting that."

"It's so weird that you keep bumping into your doppelgangers," Nina remarked as she accepted her glass from Iris. "But then again, so completely _you_."

"Well this version sounded a _lot_ nicer than Datura. Hell, if she was here, I'm sure she would've found the cure already and put the rest of us out of our misery," Belén grumbled. She eyed the remaining glass of wine on the table meant to be for her. It was a lot more tempting as she got to thinking about her problems. She shook her head. She couldn't get drunk and then let the Azalea have a hang over the next day.

"I think it would be completely weird to meet a doppelganger," Caitlin admitted especially since she knew that her doppelganger had existed on Earth 2, an _evil_ doppelganger as well.

"I think it would be cool," Shivhan leaned back on the couch. "You know, if they weren't evil. Think of all the shit you could pull."

"Okay, maybe let's _not_ talk about doppelgangers...?" Iris made a discreet nod towards Belén who was growing distant with thoughts. "Or anything meta related. This is meant, after all, to be just a fun and casual night. Belén, take a glass." She picked up the last wine glass from the table and held it out for the ombre-blonde. "I'm sure Dr. Snow wouldn't get mad over _one_ glass." Caitlin playfully rolled her eyes. "C'mon!"

Belén took the glass and immediately drank from it. Shivhan laughed. "Oh shut up!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Thanks Iris, for setting this up," Belén looked at the woman in question. "Maybe I _do_ need just a little bit of a distraction. But I'm sorry you had to give up a night for me when you could be going on another date with Scott."

"Oh, um...actually..." Iris made a face. She could've sworn she told Belén this but now that she was thinking about it, she had told _Barry_ instead. "That's not really happening anymore."

"Why not?" Belén blinked. "It's not because of me is it?"

"No, no, of course not! I just..." Iris' shoulders shrugged purely because she couldn't put her thoughts into words at the moment.

"Did you guys break up?" Caitlin then asked just to see if she could help Iris find her words again.

Iris exhaled and shook her head. "No, well...can't really break up if we were never really together. Actually, I kind of did it when Barry showed me this video of Eddie wishing me a happy birthday. He said all these nice things about me…" Iris smiled to herself as she remembered the video. "And I thought it was time to move on but...I guess it's easier to say it than actually do it. Plus, I can't really see myself 'moving on' with a guy who can't really appreciate what metahumans do for us."

"Still, sorry," Belén said and offered her glass to clink with. "But I'm sure there's someone else out there."

"Well when you find one, let _me_ know cos I want to find one too," Nina said suddenly, making the others laugh. "What? I'm past thirty. I _need_ to find me a man."

"Me too," Shivhan said, then added, "Or a woman. I'm bisexual and I _still_ can't find someone."

"Cisco said you had a girlfriend in college," Caitlin pointed. They were all now aware of Shivhan's backstory and her terrible time in her early metahuman days. "Have you ever thought about maybe calling her up now that you've gotten control over your powers?"

Shivhan shook her head. "Nah. What's the point? I almost hurt her. I don't think I could face her."

"Never say never," Belén smiled encouragingly at her. "Because hey, what if she's still waiting for you to call her?"

"Yeah, right," Shivhan rolled her eyes. "Someone just serve me more wine. I've got a _lot_ more comments about that adoptive daughter Belén has!"

Belén's face fell flat but the blush creeping up her neck was all the motivation Shivhan needed to follow through.

~ 0 ~

"Soo...a little birdy told me you almost opened up a breech last night," Belén took the stool across from Cisco in his workshop. She smiled proudly, because it _was_ a really big thing to be proud of, but Cisco didn't pay her attention.

"Almost," he stared hard at his goggles like the conversation was coming from it and not Belén.

"Barry thinks you're scared. Zoom has a way of getting into your head, but...I don't think that's the fear. Or at least that's not where the fear comes from."

Cisco briefly looked up to see Belén studying him intently. "It's not?" he asked.

"Cisco, I had a hard time getting my powers under control and to this day it still scares me that I could succumb to the dark side of them. It's a unique sort of fear, and... it's kind of like the one I'm seeing in your eyes right now."

"What do you mean?" Cisco tried playing dumb.

"You're scared of your powers, or at least something along those lines." Belén saw the shift Cisco gave in his spot. She stood up and walked up to him, placing a comforting on his arm. "What is it?"

Cisco sighed. He saw no point in hiding it anymore. "It's like... It's like right now I'm Anakin Skywalker. I got the midi-chlorians. I've got the goods. The force is strong with me. That is something I can feel. But if I start opening breaches into other worlds, doing all this other crazy stuff Reverb was doing, then... what if this is how I become Vader?"

"You're afraid of becoming like your doppelganger?" Belén would have laughed had it not been a serious matter. "Cisco, that could never happen. Literally."

"You don't know that. That is what happened to Reverb," Cisco said. "He learned how to use his abilities, and when he felt that, when he felt that power, he succumbed... to the dark side."

"I get that fear. Let's not forget my doppelganger still lives to _create_ evil," Belén sighed. "And I was scared too, until Barry made me see something. Those doppelgangers of ours had no one. Those they had... wasn't the same relationship. Your doppelganger, as far as we know, had no Caitlin Snow, no Barry Allen, no STAR Labs team. My doppelganger had Barry but it wasn't the same relationship. She didn't have enough confidence in him to share with him what was going on. Let's not even get into what Earth's 2 Caitlin was missing. My point is, we-" Belén pointed between them, "-have the best family on this Earth. They are what keep us grounded. We are never going to turn into our doppelgangers. You are Vibe and you are a _whole_ lot better than Reverb."

"You didn't even meet Reverb," Cisco remarked but Belén detected traces of his usual humor in his tone.

"Yeah but I didn't need to. I just know it."

Cisco chuckled. "Thanks, Bells."

"Well I figured since you've given me a thousand ways to get back on my feet, I owed you one," Belén secured him in a tight hug, refusing to let go until he promised to again with the breeches.

Once she was clear, she left the workshop to find Barry lingering just a tad too close to _not_ be able to hear what she said. He was smiling strangely at her, making her laugh.

"What?"

"I forgot to pass on a message from your Earth 38 doppelganger."

"Oh? What was it?" Belén wondered if it was a tip for the future like, eat more of this and less of that. She could do with those cheat sheets.

"She said that _you_ are the _best_ version of all the Beléns in the multiverse," Barry came closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're the bravest because you fight every day against metas, put your job at risk for people you don't know. You're the best."

Belén actually felt a few tears trying to come up in her eyes. "She really said that?"

"Mhm, she just missed one thing..."

"Like what?"

"That you are such a _good_ friend."

Belén blushed under his intense gaze. "You think that's true?"

"I _know_ it's true. I see it every day, I just saw it right now. You're the best, Bells." Barry lowered down to press a soft kiss over her lips. Belén wrapped her arms around his neck just to keep them close for a moment.

They still had _plenty_ to do afterwards.

~0~

Harry had added onto Barry's suit's emblem proposed to help Barry stop Zoom. He placed the emblem back on the suit and turned the others in the cortex. "You're all set. He won't even know it's there."

"Cause whoever said aesthetics aren't important," Cisco meant as joke but Harry retorted with a sarcastic 'not me' and walked away from him.

Barry noticed how Caitlin was throwing uncomfortable looks all around the room. "Hey, Cait, I know how hard this is gonna be for you, but we have to stop him."

"I know, and I want to be supportive," Caitlin promised and scooted closer to Belén. "I just... I can't face Jay. Or whatever his real name is."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, you remember when I was looking for his doppelganger, right?"

"Yeah. And you couldn't find him."

"Because there is no Jay Garrick on this Earth. His doppelganger's name is Hunter Zolomon."

From across the room, Harry stopped. "Hunter Zolomon? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why?" Caitlin dreaded yet another lie of 'Jay' would come out.

Harry flipped the lid of his watch and started pulling up images. "Well, because on my Earth, Hunter Zolomon was a convicted serial killer."

Two conviction pictures of Jay - or Hunter Zolomon - faced the group. He had long, messy hair and an equally messy long beard.

"Is that really Jay?" Belén nearly had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing something else.

"No, that is Hunter," Harry pointed at the pictures. "Last public photo of Hunter Zolomon. Instantly recognizable. And people from my Earth... on my Earth, serial killers are an anomaly, so a lot of media attention to this. There was a podcast. When Hunter was 11, his father killed his mother right in front of him. Father sent to prison, Hunter grew up in the foster care system. Years later he was convicted on 23 counts of murder."

Cisco gawked at the number. "23? That's, like, some real Hannibal Lecter type level."

"Well, with that kind of background, there was always a potential risk for something like this to happen," Belén crossed her arms and received odd glances from her friends. "What? I took an elective Child Development course."

Harry continued with the story for them to know the ending. "After the trial, Hunter was sent to the Saint Perez Mental Asylum for the Criminally Insane... given daily electroshock therapy. Cure him of his urges and then faded from view."

"Until the night your particle accelerator exploded," Belén realized.

"That's right. The dark matter crept into the mental asylum. I had thought... piping the explosion underground would limit exposure. I was wrong. All it did was create an unstoppable monster." Harry grumbling took the images down and closed the lid of his watch.

Barry had began to think of the new information and wondered if he could use it against Jay/Hunter. "He's not unstoppable. Jay doesn't know that we know who he really is. He thinks that his past is a secret."

"You've got your thinking face on," Belén noticed, her curiosity growing by the second. What had he thought of?

Barry smirked. "I think I have an idea of how we can stop him."

~ 0 ~

Harry and Cisco led Belén, Caitlin, Iris, Veronica and Joe into the safe room. Caitlin held onto a handheld tablet recording the future movements of Barry. They couldn't risk Jay getting to them as using them as bait. And since they would be inside, they made sure that Shivhan and Nina would be far away as well, just in case. 'Jay' was never close to either woman but it didn't mean they wanted to risk them, so Shivhan took Nina to the former's old neighborhood in the lower parts of the city for a while.

"Are you sure Jay can't get in here?" Iris looked around the safe room with some bad memories seeping through.

"Pretty sure, but just in case," Harry handed Joe a large gun-like weapon.

Joe secured the weapon in his arms. "How do you use this?"

"All right, so you aim it, and then you pull the trigger," Harry said, dead serious.

"Smart ass," Joe spat but Harry smiled nonetheless.

"Barry and Cisco are in position," Caitlin looked up from the tablet.

Belén made sure to be right next to Caitlin. Since she wasn't allowed to help, she would at least know what was going on at all times. "Let's hope this thing works."

~ 0 ~

"You ready, buddy?" Barry stopped in the middle of the abandoned hospital.

Cisco stood next to him, nervously putting on his goggles. "Yeah. You guys always believed in me. Thank you."

"You got this," Barry assured.

Cisco nodded and got ready to open the same breech.

~0~

Datura's eyes flashed red as a rush of images passed in her mind. Each one hurt more than the last. "He's going to open another one…" Zoom turned on her expecting much more than she was giving. She swallowed hard and focused more. "U-uh...the hospital, again. But…" her eyes drifted to the side, "... you're gonna need my help."

"I don't need anyone's help," Zoom towered over her.

"You _will_. They're going to pull something. Retribution. I'm good at that." Datura failed to look the speedster in the eyes. "Let me come...please…"

~0~

Cisco felt the familiar strain of opening the breech but this time he did not fall back. He was determined to help put an end to Zoom's reign of terror. This was his part and he would he damned if he let his friends down. The blue energy circled in the air until it formed a direct breech into the next world. Almost immediately Zoom jumped out but he was not alone.

Cisco let out a small noise at the sight of a maskless Datura behind Zoom. She was getting _braver_. "She's not supposed to come!"

Barry was stunned with her presence but he had to force himself not to pay her the attention that would inevitably hurt him.

"Well I have," Datura did her best so that her voice resembled nothing but strength. "And I'm ready to play...but you're the wrong players." Thick green vines entangled themselves around her body until she was no more. The vines made a beeline for the cracked window and disappeared.

"She's heading to STAR Labs…" Cisco didn't need any clue to figure that out. Barry gave him a nod to get going. Cisco ran out of the building and intended on breaching as fast as possible to STAR Labs.

"Reverb's doppelganger has increased his powers," Zoom took notice.

Barry directed his fiercest glare at him. "Hatred is a strong motivator."

"You were unwise to reopen the breach."

"I'm not gonna let you terrorize another world anymore."

"Without your speed, you won't be able to stop me."

Barry almost laughed. " Let's see," he began the game and sped out.

Zoom followed after him.

~0~

Caitlin didn't mind the fact Belén was gripping onto her arm to the point blood circulation was close to shutting down, it was justifiable. Caitlin held the tablet in her hands and was following every movement of Barry's, which now showed the speedster running downtown.

"Zoom's gaining on Barry," she informed the rest.

"He can't catch him!" Belén exclaimed. "Oh my God, what if he does? What if-"

"He won't," Iris put a hand on her arm, reassuring her with a small smile.

Cisco walked into the safe room with an urgent look on his face. "She's coming!"

Everyone else gave him confused stares.

"Your-" Cisco threw a finger at Belén who merely blinked, "-doppelganger. She's here - I mean, she's coming!"

"What? What for?" Iris made a face.

"We have her ginger friend locked up and her cure are all in the same building…" Belén said slowly, exchanging a knowing look with Caitlin. "Looks like we're doing this right now."

"Doing what?" Harry narrowed his eyes on her, pretty sure where this was about to go. "You are _not_ leaving this safe room!"

"She is _coming_!" Belén snapped, already backing away. "And do you really think she'll just come in and take Poison Ivy then leave? No."

"Belén, she's a _killer_!" Veronica was terrified of the idea of her daughter fighting that doppelganger.

"Yeah, I know, which is why I have to go and stop her!"

"I hate to agree but she _is_ Datura so she _can_ access the pipeline system and any of our other security systems," Cisco scrunched his face when everyone's gazes turned to him.

"Zoom's almost got Barry!" Caitlin suddenly shouted, too startled to have kept it down. Everyone crowded around her to see how the speedsters were doing.

"He's getting away again," Iris relaxed when she saw Barry's dot getting farther and farther from Zoom's.

"They're almost to the building," Caitlin told the others.

"Guys…" Cisco's voice drew their gazes from Caitlin's tablet. He made a motion for them to notice that Belén was already gone.

"Belén!" Veronica shouted but her daughter was far gone.

"Dammit," Harry gritted his teeth. "She's just as crazy as Allen!"

"What do we now!?" Iris frantically waited for someone to say something.

"We can't do anything…" Caitlin said, looking up from her tablet. "This thing just detected a visitor and it's not a speedster."

"Great," Harry muttered.

~ 0 ~

The pipeline room was dead empty and far too easy to get into. Datura hummed as she made her way up to the access controls. She was about to pull off her black glove when a vine grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

"You didn't actually think you were just going to _waltz_ in and get what you want, did you?" Belén swallowed hard now that she was face to face with her doppelganger. It was _so_ weird seeing her own face, _herself_ , standing across her.

Datura got over her initial agitation and smiled, amused with the reaction on Belén. Fire erupted over her arm, burning away the vine on her wrist. She refit her glove over her hand, her brown curls bouncing with the movement. As soon as she did, Belén froze in her spot. Her eyes were wide but her fists were balled for a fight.

"What's the matter?" Datura's voice was mocking. "Take your breath away?"

It was hard for Belén to see her face on someone else, and much more on a person who looked ready to inflict pain on anyone. There was no getting used to it.

"When did he get the courage to tell you? Did you cry? I bet you cried," Datura slipped a smirk between her words. "Are you as much of a crier as I once was?"

Belén's jaw tightened. Datura lived to make her life miserable whether it was with violence or the old fashion word jabs. She couldn't keep falling for it and giving Datura what she wanted. She raised a threatening hand towards Datura. "Zoom and Barry are downstairs and when Barry catches Zoom you and him are going to go in the pipeline."

Datura raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she laughed. "It's funny you think that's going to work. Now please, go back into hiding or something and let me get my friend, alright? You're actually second on my list tonight."

Belén almost laughed when she was waved off. Belén thrust forwards a vine that knocked Datura to the side. "You are _not_ getting anyone!" she stalked towards her doppelganger.

Datura peeled herself off the wall and glowered at her. Eyes flashed blue and a familiar voice rang through her mouth. "You're an idiot if you think you could ever win against me!" her hands billowed with icy smoke.

" _Caitlin_?" Belén's eyes widened. Datura pulled her hands back and shot icicles forwards. Belén had to throw herself on the ground to avoid being hit. "How are you Caitlin!?" she asked after being able to raise her head off the ground.

Datura was smirking with eyes still flashing blue. "I'm Killer Frost," she said in the icy meta's voice. She threw more icicles at Belén who rolled to the side just in time.

Belén picked herself up and blew her strongest breath outwards, poisoning the air air in the room. She didn't expect to make a strong blow since poison was probably nothing against Datura - just like she was - so she was mighty surprised to see Datura wobbling for a second. The blue in her eyes faded rapidly and, if Belén had to describe it, the woman looked far too pale.

But then Datura pulled herself together and a yellow hue swirled in her eyes. Electricity crackled around her hands and she didn't waste a second shooting at Belén again. "Run, birdy!" Datura's voice was overlapping with a male's voice.

Belén dismantled into vines and disappeared from Datura's sight. Her figure formed behind Datura and easily kicked her on the back. Datura rolled on the ground and Belén jumped at chance to keep her down. She wrestled with Datura to keep her on the ground and was subjected to various power changes from the siphoner. There was frost, electricity, energy beams, light and more but Belén wouldn't give up. She delivered two punches across Datura's face - a _very_ satisfying moment - and got true blood on her hands.

Datura's head lulled to the side but she was not unconscious. There was a visible weakness in her face that Belén took into consideration. This didn't exactly look like the killer siphoner she'd been fighting this year. Granted, she was vicious in a fight but there was an unaccounted new weakness tracing her movements. Her overall strength seemed to falter after a blow.

Redness passed through Datura's eyes as she gasped. New images were delivered to her mind, ones that delivered several painful jabs to her head. "Your plan... it's going to fail. The shackle… it's going to break" Belén was taken aback from the certainty in the woman's face. Datura smiled through her weakness. "And Barry's going to give it up."

Belén's eyebrows knitted together with further confusion. "Take what back?"

Datura merely chuckled. She latched a hand onto Belén's arm and quickly said, "Tell Ivy I'm coming back for her soon." The electricity passed onto Belén in aggressive shocks, making her scream until she fell to the side and lost consciousness.

~0~

The next time Belén was awake and looking at things, she was in a side room of the cortex with Caitlin acting as her overprotective nurse. Her mother was on the other side of the bed. It took a couple of minutes for Belén's ears to start working again but she could pretty much make out the scold her mother was giving her.

"...it was unnecessary! She could've killed you! What were you thinking!?"

Belén lazily blinked at her mother. "Please, my head doesn't already hurt. Caitlin, tell me you got the blood?"

Caitlin came over with a sigh. "Yes, but your mother's right. You shouldn't have gone off like that without backup."

"Bells, you're awake," Barry came right in. He was back in his regular clothes but Belén couldn't dismiss the pure disappointment in his face. "Cait, is she going to be okay?"

"Well, never mind the fact she received a massive surge of electric shocks-" Caitlin began in her reprimanding tone.

"Caitlin," Belén warned her to simply stop.

The brunette sighed as began again. "Yes, she'll be fine."

"That doesn't mean you can just keep doing that!" Veronica huffed as she got up from her seat. "Can you please tell her that?" she asked Barry on her way out.

"Hey, guess what?" Belén smiled at Barry despite her mother's scold, eager to tell him what she'd gotten for the cure. "I punched my doppelganger enough to get blood for your samples. Tell me I did good."

Even though the night hadn't turned out like he wanted, Barry smiled back at her. He'd been extra scared after learning what she'd done while he dealt with Zoom and seeing her frazzled body in the pipeline hadn't been any better. He leaned closer to her and grabbed her hand. "You shouldn't have faced her like that. Who knows what she could've done."

"She can't kill me yet," Belén said matter-of-factly. "And with how she looks now, I doubt she'd ever be able to."

At that comment, Barry straightened in his chair. "What do you mean?"

Belén pushed herself to sit upright. "She looks...sick. Like, pale face and weak. She's supposed to be this big, bad siphoner but I nearly took her down with minimal poison from my system."

"It _is_ possible that her illness is advancing and affecting her stamina," Caitlin offered as a reason. "It's natural."

"Which means if we want to cure her, we have to work fast," Barry nodded. "But with Zoom still out there I don't see how that's supposed to happen."

"Zoom is still out there?" Belén blinked. She hadn't yet been informed on how the original plan had gone.

Barry sighed and looked down, almost ashamed to see her in the eyes. "I let him get away. I had him - I was so close - and he...just got away."

Belén gripped his hand already around hers. "It's not your fault."

"I lost again and now he's out here again," Barry couldn't stop feeling guilty.

His words, however, made her think of Datura. She was just about to speak of that when Cisco came running in to tell them Iris had called with devastating news. Despite Caitlin's caution to stay in bed, Belén followed them to the cortex to where Cisco and Harry were. They had pulled up the image of a text Iris had send them.

 _'Your speed for Wally's life.'_

"He took Wally," Caitlin covered her mouth in horror.

"Iris said the whole house is thrashed," Cisco filled them in. "Wally's nowhere to be seen."

"Speed…give it up…" Belén mumbled, her mind replaying what Datura had said. "That bitch warned me."

"What?" Barry looked at her oddly, for a second thinking Caitlin had missed a possible concussion.

Belén faced her friends with a frustration she had for herself. "When I was fighting Datura, she said something like this," she motioned to the phrase on the screen. "She said Barry would have to give something up and I-I didn't make much of it but... I'm so sorry," she said with devastation. Her eyes met with Barry's and he could see they were filling fast with guilt. "If I had paid more attention I could have seen it coming and I-I…" Barry took her into a hug, his face expressing deep confusion much like the rest in the room.

"No, sorry, are you suggesting she can see the _future_ now?" Cisco seemed almost outraged. "No! She can't have all these powers!"

"Calm down," Harry ordered him. "Datura must have just known the plan Zoom had."

"She knew you were going to use the shackle to keep Zoom put," Belén told Barry. "She laughed at it. She knew our plan. Not even Zoom knew it right?"

Barry thought back to his fight with Zoom. The way he had reacted when he saw the cutouts of his parents was far too raw to be fake. He couldn't have known. "So she siphoned psychic abilities…"

"She's crazy," Belén declared. "You know she said she was Killer Frost at one point during our fight? She even sounded like Caitlin…" she threw her friend in question a look.

"Me?" Caitlin didn't even want to think of her dead doppelganger.

"She talked like she was actually Killer Frost and...and these other people," Belén crinkled her nose. "She's really _is_ sick."

"She's deranged and she needs to be locked up," Harry put it into simple terms. "No cures, no anything but right now, we need to focus on getting Wally back. Come back to your psychiatric profile later."

He parted with those words that did ring truth for the moment.

~0~

As Wally began to wake up, his ears picked up a slur of an argument from a distance. It took him only a minute to realize he'd been put in a worn out cell somewhere far and dirty. He picked himself up and the first thing he saw was a second prisoner hidden behind a thick, metal head mask.

"You lied to me and that is lethal to your condition," Wally then hard from the side. He turned to find the black-masked figure who had taken him in the first place. He was arguing with a smaller, female figure.

"I had to get Ivy! I need her!"

The voice sounded familiar albeit with traces of a...cold? Who knew.

Zoom snatched her by the neck and pulled her towards him. "You begged me to take you with me and this is how you repay?"

"I-I can't...siphon...without her!" Datura struggled to say it one go with the lack of oxygen she was getting.

"You're going to siphon the speed force out of Flash and if you don't I'll kill you on the spot," Zoom unceremoniously let Datura fall on the ground.

The woman coughed violently the moment her lungs could extract air from outside. It was then that Zoom noticed the newest prisoner had awoken and was watching them.

Wally stepped back when Zoom started coming towards his cell. "Scared?" Zoom taunted him.

"Someone's gonna get me out," Wally said with some level of determination. Someone would have to notice he was kidnapped right?

"There's only one person who can help you now," Zoom neared the bars of the cell. "The Flash."

Wally blinked. "The Flash? Why would he help me? He doesn't even know who I am."

"Someone he cares about... cares about you."

~ 0 ~

Everyone had re-gathered in the cortex with the intention of getting word to Zoom he had a deal. It only took one vibe of Cisco to get Zoom ready.

"Barry, are you sure?" the speedster kept hearing over and over in the meanwhile they waited for Zoom to show up.

And over and over, Barry kept tell them that he was. He wasn't happy about handing over his speed to a monster but it meant saving Wally's life. He was definitely sure about that. He was also sure this wasn't over. It was a bump in the road, admittedly a big bump, but they would cross it and come back with something big.

Eventually, Zoom arrived to the cortex with Wally in hand. His other hand was latched onto Datura's covered arm. As soon as Wally saw his family he tried going to them.

"Let him go," Barry ordered him.

"We had a deal," Zoom reminded just in case they tried anything with him. Both Veronica and Joe were aiming at him with guns and who knew what else they had hidden around.

"My speed for Wally's life. Hand him over, and it's yours."

Zoom let Wally go with no questions. Wally rushed to hug Iris and was promptly rushed away with car keys in her hand. They were not taking a second chance.

"Let's get this over with," Barry had nothing left to say.

Zoom tore his mask off and smirked. "Indeed." He pushed Datura forwards, the woman three him a hidden glare but dared not to actually back. "Siphon him," he gave the order.

"I can't," she said quietly, surprising the others.

Zoom looked nowhere surprised like them. He expected it, and he didn't care. "I said siphon him."

Datura pursed her lips and looked down. "I told you I _can't_!"

"And I said _do it_!"

Datura lost her patience and whirled around. "You had me siphoning left to right just to find a metahuman with similar abilities to Reverb and I _told_ you it would weaken me! I siphon one more person I might not make it. You are not gonna do me like Killer Frost, I _know_ what I can do with her powers!"

There was a tension-filled silence in the room and no one knowing what would happen next.

"She doesn't...she doesn't have to do anything," Barry was the one to speak up and was grateful to have Jay's attention.

Datura, on the other hand, shot him a glare. "Contrary to your routines, I-" she gestured to herself, "-don't need your help."

"Shut up if you want to live," Belén said through gritted teeth. This only infuriated the doppelganger even more.

"We've got the way to get the speedforce out of my system," Barry went on, acting as if Datura had never spoken in the first place. "And no foul play. Harry?"

Begrudgingly, Harry stepped forwards a familiar device in hand. "This thing is how I stole The Flash's speed the first time. Now all he needs to do is run, and his Speed Force will transfer into this vial. but only as long as I calibrate it. "

"Get to work," Jay gestured for them to get to work then. He didn't care how he got the speed he just wanted it and he was gonna get it.

Harry despised the man already but with the smug face of Jay, he nearly lost it. "One day... I'm gonna knock that smug expression clean off your face."

Jay smirked as Harry was forced to go get things ready.

"So this was your plan all along, huh?" Barry couldn't take his glare off Jay for anything.

Jay, on the other hand, was gleeful as ever. "Ever since the skies parted and showed me another world... with another speedster. Once I saw you, I came here, figured out what I had to do."

"How the hell are you still alive?" Belén had to get the answer for that mystery everyone was still questioning about. "We literally saw you kill yourself."

"Yeah, you did," Jay said, quite proud of his action.

"So what was that? A speed mirage?" Cisco wondered.

"Speed mirage?" Jay laughed as he leaned back on the desk. "Uh, no. Even I'm not that fast. I knew that I couldn't be on two Earths at the same time, so I went back in time and, uh, met another version of myself."

"Your time remnant," Caitlin blinked. "Like the Reverse-Flash."

"I also knew that the only way to make Barry become faster was if you all witnessed your old pal Jay die."

"When did you decide to do that?" inquired Iris, although she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Oh, once you closed all the breaches, went to Earth-2. Believe me, getting my time remnant to agree to me murdering him took a bit of convincing. But once he saw the... well, the genius in my plan, he was all for it."

Who's the man in the iron mask?" Barry recalled the prison who he still had a promise to keep.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Jay answered, giving the face that was all they were going to get over that.

"But why the charade?" Joe asked. "Running around dressed like The Flash?"

"To give people hope, Detective."

" _Hope_?

"So I could rip it away from them. It's so fun pretending to be a hero."

The last statement frustrated Caitlin to no point's end. She worked with actual heroes and Jay was certainly the opposite of that. "You are no hero. You're nothing but a monster!"

At the same time, Harry returned and was angry to say everything was ready. Jay was the first one to go for the training room.

Belén nudged Cisco and motioned him with her head to look at Datura. The woman was standing sideways, her face distant yet calculating. Belén recognized the flicker of red in her doppelganger's eyes.

"Quite the new power you got there," Cisco spoke up. Datura slowly looked at them, however there was no describable emotion on her just yet. "Shame you can't use it all, though," Cisco smirked. "There's no way you can master that ability in the condition you're in."

"We _can_ help you…" Belén had to force herself to say it with a straight face. She glanced at the training room where she could see Harry explaining to both Barry and Jay something.

Datura laughed shortly. "How romantic. A twisted, romantic story but an interesting one nonetheless. I know what I need to survive and I'm looking at her."

"You can't take her anywhere," Cisco stepped forwards. "You won't."

"We'll see," Datura briefly gave her doppelganger a lookover before her eyes laid on Barry. "His neck is going to hurt." She walked towards the training room with a devious smirk on her face.

"Watch her," Belén mumbled to Cisco as the two followed her.

~ 0 ~

The group was forced to watch Barry glumly get on his special treadmill. Jay was closely standing next to Harry over the controls. Barry began to run in his normal, speedy manner but as the seconds ticked by it progressively became slower.

"He's slowing down…" Belén said quietly. On the computer, she could see the speed force filling the syringe Harry had plugged in.

"The Speed Force is leaving his body," Harry registered.

"He's becoming human again," Cisco mumbled. He noticed Datura silently stepping back. She was planning something alright.

Eventually, Barry's speed vanished and he toppled over the treadmill and fell on the ground. The others bolted into the training room to help him up.

"Barry, are you okay!?" Belén helped him sit upright on the ground.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Barry tried to say amongst the commotion.

Jay was intently watching Harry put together the syringe and snatched it out of his hands the moment it was ready. He didn't hesitate to plunge it into himself. Blue and yellow smoke hissed out from the action. His eyes darkened in blue for a second until everything vanished. He then sped into the room and snatched Barry by the neck off the ground.

Datura smirked and ran out the other direction. Cisco tried stopping her by grabbing her by the arm. "You're not going anywhere!"

Datura raised an eyebrow. When her smirk widened, Cisco knew he was about to get it. She pulled the same trick of electricity that shocked him to the ground.

"Cisco!" Belén didn't know in what direction to go to. Datura had ran out to no doubt get Poison Ivy, and this time she would succeed. On one side, Belén had Cisco on the ground, probably unconscious, and on the other side was Zoom threatening to choke the life out of Barry.

"Jay, stop! Please!" Caitlin ran up to the two speedsters. She was in tears but determined to save her friend. "If anything you ever said to me was true, or anything we ever shared was real, then please just let him go. Please!" Zoom did not move and Barry grew paler and paler from the lack of oxygen. "I know some piece of you did care for me, so if you have any humanity left, then please, let him go!"

Zoom dropped Barry to the ground and zipped out of the room...with Caitlin.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This was a monster to write for some reason. I kept writing scenes and then rearranging them. Like, it just didn't fit so I hope that my supposed editing came out well in the end!

 **P. S:** As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is " **noble-crescent** " and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	27. An Unlikely Alliance

Cisco had never felt so much pent rage than when he held something belonging to Jay...or Hunter. "I really wish we didn't have to keep Jay's helmet around. I hate this thing. Just want to put a dent in it." He stared down at the silver helmet in his hands and wondered just how far away he could chuck it.

"Cisco, did you see Caitlin in your vibe?" Barry set him back on the topic. No one liked keeping anything of Jay's but it was the only thing connecting them to Caitlin.

"Zoom's got her in his lair. She's scared, but she's okay," Cisco let the helmet drop on the nearest table.

"Well thank God for that," Belén sighed. "So now we have to think of a way to get her back."

"But without his speed, there's no way any of us can get through that breach that Cisco found at the hospital," Joe discarded anything. "I just don't think there's anything we can do right now."

"Look, Shivhan and I are more than ready to go through that breach," Belén reminded them, frowning since they kept throwing the idea out. It's not that she didn't understand _why_ but...time was really beginning to dwindle. Plus, she had a score to settle with Datura since the doppelganger had made a clean getaway to the other world with Poison Ivy. She took advantage of all the chaos and easily got her partner out of the pipeline. She'd also taken the siphoning device Harry had made for Barry's speed. For what, only God knew.

"It's too dangerous," Barry shook his head. "He's too fast, especially now."

"Not to mention it's _far_ too dangerous," Veronica made sure her opinion on the matter was heard loud and clear. "You will _not_ be going anywhere near a breach, Annah-Belén."

"Full name, yikes," Cisco made a joke at Belén who retaliated with a deep glare.

"Mom, we don't have the luxury of options here-"

"I'm sorry, I still can't get over the fact this is even on the table," Veronica took an accusatory glance at the others. "That doppelganger got her stupid partner out of the pipeline and we know she's coming right back for you, Belén."

"And I'm not alone, Mom. If you haven't noticed, I'm surrounded by people," Belén gestured to the group. "Plus, I have more allies in the Green. They're helping me train just as I'm helping them train. I'm not backing down."

"So far no one has opened up the breeches again. We think Zoom's probably basking in his recent glory. We still have time," Barry spoke up to ease some of the tension between Belén and her mother.

Veronica made a series of hand motions but her frustration didn't exactly get across. "This is stupid. You are in danger, Belén. We all are!" she told the rest but of course it wasn't big news anymore.

Belén softened and moved around the desk to meet her mother. "Mom, why don't you leave the city of a while? I would completely understand it. Maybe you can join Axel in Italy."

"If you think I am leaving you alone you've got another thing coming," Veronica outright refused the idea. "I want to see each and every one of you-" her finger went from Cisco to Barry to Joe, "-coming up with plans on how to stop these awful people."

"That we promise to do," Barry assured her.

"Don't see how," Harry came in with a hasty movement from one table to the next. He was gathering things up. "Allen here gave Zoom everything he wanted. Practically on a silver platter."

" _Enough_ ," Joe shut him down. "We're all suffering here."

Harry barely stopped to come back. "That's right. That's right, Detective. We're all suffering. We've lost Snow, you've-" he threw a sharp point at Barry, "-lost your speed, and now... now Zoom can come through that breach anytime he wants. And that, Allen... that's on you."

"You're acting like we _wanted_ to do all this," Belén scowled. "You were there, you saw how things went down. What were we supposed to do, hm?"

Harry shook her words and grabbed his usual choice of weapons and slung it over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Veronica glowered. The man was not about to run off on them, _oh no_.

"I'm gonna go find Jesse before Zoom does... again."

"Wait, you found her?" Cisco blinked. "How?"

"Cellular dead zones, remote... People from my Earth vibrate at a different frequency than people from your Earth. They leave cellular dead zones wherever they go."

"That's why I'm always dropping calls around you?"

"Cisco," Belén made him drop all jokes in his mind. "So how exactly did these dead zone things help you find Jesse?"

"I track the dead zones created by Jesse since she got here and I follow the trail. It's easy."

"Mm, and is the gun just a decorative item there or…?"

"The gun is not for my daughter. She's not the only person from a different Earth hiding out on this one If I run into them, I'm gonna need this."

"Okay, but you're also gonna need some help," Cisco said with the actual intention to help him.

"Really? You know anyone with the speed to help me, Ramon?" Harry left with that sarcasm departure.

"Please don't even bother to listen to him, Barry," Belén sot him a warning look since he refused to agree. "He knows he has me, Cisco, Shivhan and Nina to help with anything meta related. He's not alone, he _chooses_ to be."

"Excellent words," Cisco gave her a small smile. "I'll be in my workshop...trying to come up with ideas." He dared to believe as he walked out.

"We should go too," Joe waited for Veronica to (begrudgingly) agree.

"Fine," but she neared her daughter again before leaving. "You need _anything_ you call me, okay?"

Belén nodded her head, deciding to just give that simple thing to her mother. "I will, thanks."

"You need a ride back to the station?" Joe asked from Barry but he was already heading for one of the side rooms with the intention of staying.

"No, I'm good. I'm gonna stick around, actually. Finished all my cases this morning," Barry languidly informed them.

"Damn, that was fast," Joe blurted and instantly received looks from Belén and Veronica. "That was a poor choice of words. You do know it's okay to ease back into the way you used to do things, right?"

The words didn't seem to register with Barry. "Well, this is the only way I can fight crime. If I'm not The Flash, that's what I got to do." He gave them a weak wave and finally disappeared into the room.

~0~

Caitlin felt her stomach rumble with actual pain but as much as she looked at the plate of food in front of her, the will to touch it never came. She took to staring at the rust cuffs binding her wrists together.

"You need to eat," Zoom appeared in the room, but Caitlin took no acknowledgement. "Caitlin."

"If you want to speak to me, then take off that mask," she muttered.

Zoom sped out of the room and returned all in the same second, but dressed in his regular clothes. "Does this make you feel better?"

Caitlin couldn't believe he was genuinely asking her that. "Nothing you could ever do would make me feel better."

"You don't need to be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I care too much about you to do that."

Caitlin could almost laugh in his face if it wasn't for the shackles keeping her back. "You only care about yourself... Hunter."

He suddenly heard the echoes of his mother screaming just as she was killed. It was like a reflex when he heard his true name, it's why he didn't use it. He shook the images off. "I know you think that I'm a monster. I understand why. But that'll change. Please, Cait…"

"Do not call me that!" Caitlin snapped, almost disgusted. "Why are you keeping me here? You're cured. You don't need me for anything."

"You're here because I love you. It may take a while, but someday, you'll start feeling that way about me again, too." He approached her bedside and vibrated a hand through her shackles, breaking them. "Make yourself at home. You're gonna be here a while. Okay?"

Caitlin was glad when he left. If he thought she was just gonna stay put and be prisoner, he had another thing coming. She got up and started walking through the only available passageway. The sounds of distant tapping caught her attention and when she matched the noise to a prisoner behind a metal mask, she didn't know what to make of it.

"I-I don't understand…" Caitlin took a step back.

"Look at that, we've got a new prison mate," a familiar voice called out to her from behind.

Caitlin whirled around to find two additional prisoners stuck behind another glass wall. Datura and Poison Ivy sat on the ground side by side with identical smirks.

"But she gets benefits for sleeping with the enemy," Poison Ivy mirthlessly laughed with her friend.

Caitlin was frozen to her spot, unsure of her next move.

~0~

"Hey..." Iris barely knocked against the slightly opened door of Scott's office. The editor was already waiting for her. He silently motioned for her to come in and take a seat. She did so quietly and noticed the opened laptop in front of him. "Um, was there something wrong with my last article?" Iris asked when he turned the laptop around for her. Before her eyes could truly focus on the screen, Scott started talking.

"Are you aware of these videos that have been circling the internet?" he pressed the 'play' button before Iris could come up with an answer.

She was mighty surprised to find Shivhan - _Black Orchid_ \- staring back at her. She stood in front of the camera, God knew where. " _Central City, my name's Black Orchid for those who still don't know me. I work with the Azalea and occasionally the Flash. Recently, a civilian posted an article concerning my botanical sisters and brothers. Her name is Belén Palayta. The article helped **many** of my sisters and brothers have recently been able to come together in the place we know as 'the Green'. It's the source of our botanical powers. There's so many new metas that have managed to find their way into this place and find the help they need. Some of them have trained with the Azalea, others have found shelters through connections. Many of them have been able to hide better from Datura. This reporter has helped us _**_so much_** _but instead of being praised for what she did, CC Pictures has suspended her indefinitely. She might be fired. She helped a whole community and this is what she gets in return. I ask you, is that fair? It that **justice**? Before you make that decision, I ask you to watch my sisters' and brothers' videos."_

Scott paused the video there and pushed the laptop to the side. Iris swallowed when he met her gaze. He was searching for something but she didn't know _what_ , not until he went directly for it. "Did you know about this?"

"I...no, not at all," Iris shook her head, eyes wide with genuine shock. She couldn't believe Shivhan would do something like this - she stopped. No, wait, she _did_. It was exactly something Shivhan would do. She just couldn't believe _this_ is how they were finding out. Oh, what would Belén say about this?

"There's more videos like this one," Scott tapped the top of the laptop. "More of these...metas. All of them coming together for Miss Palayta."

Iris frowned immediately when she got what he was trying to say. "What...you don't think _Belén_ made them do it, do you?"

"Well since she had the genius idea of going rogue on us-"

"The only reason she went behind your back and published the article is because she wanted to help those metas. And you heard what Black Orchid said. The article _did_ help a lot of metas come together in that place. It's what Belén wanted from the start but you didn't see it. You couldn't!"

Scott's face hardened. "If this is about my views on metas-"

"No, actually, it's not. It's about the fact you didn't see what Belén was trying to do from the start. This city is under threat and we need to do _everything_ we can to help out the metas. I mean, if the Azalea and the Flash do it why can't we?"

"Iris, this...this puts CC Pictures under fire," Scott brought the laptop between them. He turned it over for a moment to bring up a few more videos. "All these metas are shooting at us for putting Miss Palayta on suspension. There's already thousands of responses."

"I'm sorry if this puts you in a difficult position but I, for one, think that Black Orchid makes a point." Iris winced when Scott scoffed at her.

"Of course you do-"

"It's not because of my friendship," Iris snapped. "If I had the knowledge that Belén had at that moment...I would've done the same thing. I would've published the article too. People are in danger, Scott, and it's our responsibility as reporters to give out all the information to help our citizens. And that's exactly what Belén did. I suggest _you_ go through Black Orchid's and the other metas' videos and hopefully see what they're trying to say." Iris got up from her seat and walked out of the office without looking back.

 _You've done it now, Shivhan._

~ 0 ~

"You need to stop watching the news," Belén sighed as she took the remote from Barry and turned the television off. He had taken to watching every news channel to see what the city was saying about the Flash's disappearance. He did at home _and_ in the cortex.

"Everybody's gonna realize sooner or later that I don't have my speed…" Barry tried taking the remote from her again but she moved around the desk to dump it in a drawer.

"That's not the concern right now, alright? We just need to figure out a way to get your speed back, which we _will_ do."

"Good news is the city isn't entirely alone," Barry felt some relief knowing that he hadn't left the city defenseless. Belén was doing everything she could to keep the city safe and it really helped having Shivhan too. Nina was even helping as well.

"Exactly," Belén smiled at him and walked back to his side. She draped her arms over his shoulders, leaning on him. "Please...relax, just for a bit."

Barry could barely chuckle at the joke. Relaxing was something far, far from their reach. "I know you're focusing on me but, are _you_ okay?"

Belén knew what he meant. Had CC Pictures called her yet? They hadn't. She admitted that it was a little concerning that it was taking them this long to make a decision over her job status. Maybe they _were_ gearing towards firing her. Belén preferred not to think about it so much. If she got fired, then she got fired. So be it. She wouldn't regret her choice even if that happened.

"It's fine, I'm fine," she assured him, going on her toes for a second to kiss him...when an alarm startled them.

"What is that?" Barry looked around to see if anything came up on the screens.

"It's mine!" Cisco came rushing in from the hallway. "It's mine! It's mine!" He plopped down at the desk and opened up the specific page with the alarm.

"Uh, you installed a new alarm?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "I'm losing count for all the different ones you have, Cisco."

Cisco made a face at her small joke and searched through the computer for the origin of the alarm. "It's Harry. The camera in the lab van recorded an accident." He pulled up the video to the screen for them to all see. "See, this is my version of crash assist. It's like those Russian dash cams, but, you know, without attack helicopters and bad pop music on the radio."

In the video they could see Harry apparently crashing and then being yanked out of the car by some man.

"That does not look like an _accident_ ," Barry frowned after they saw the man pull the car door off the van. "First Caitlin's taken, now Wells."

"This is where he got taken, but there aren't any traffic cams in that area," Cisco said after looking through the angle of the location.

"I'm gonna head out there, see what I can find," Barry went to grab his jacket off a nearby chair.

"I'll come with," Belén offered herself. "Unless Cisco wants to go…?" She thought perhaps the more qualified person would want to go but Cisco shook his head.

"I need to analyze this footage and see if we can figure out who this is."

"So you're stuck with meee," Belén gave Barry a big smile.

"Not quite a punishment," Barry smirked. He allowed her to walk out first but he stopped by the desk where Cisco was already deep into work. "What was the last place the van stopped?"

"Woodmen and Shore for about 15 minutes before heading back to Central City. Why?"

"That's where Jesse must be. She should know if something's happened to her dad," Barry left that task to Cisco.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin knew there was no way in hell Datura was ever like Belén, and yet she couldn't look away…

"If it wasn't for the carbine wall between us, I'd wipe that look off your face," Datura was still sitting on the ground next to Poison Ivy.

Caitlin blinked, becoming self conscious, and looked away. "Sorry."

"I can't believe this is Killer Frost's doppelganger," Poison Ivy gave a condescending stare-over at Caitlin. "It almost makes me miss the icy bitch."

Datura lightly chuckled and glanced sideways. "I'm right here," she said with Killer Frost's voice and blue eyes.

Poison Ivy laughed louder.

"How do you do that?" Caitlin asked, knowing the wall would keep her safe, she inched closer to the prison.

"Afraid, Caity?" Datura mocked her with Killer Frost's voice again. But just as she asked, she gasped and shook her head. She brought a gloved hand to her forehead and took a moment to gather herself again.

All this Caitlin saw and added to her mental notes for the cure. "You're sick…"

"Tell us something we don't know," Poison Ivy glowered. She put an arm around Datura and gently laid her head against the wall. "You're getting a nose bleed. Move your head low."

"I know," Datura harshly pushed Poison Ivy's hands away from her but followed the instruction nonetheless. She lowered her head and gently squeezed her nose.

"She needs help," Caitlin knew that help wasn't exactly being offered at the moment.

"We know that, idiot," Poison Ivy stood up and walked up to the wall. "But Zoom's punishing her for not siphoning the Flash's speed."

"So why are you in there?"

"I defended her."

Caitlin thought she could at least respect the loyalty between the two metas. "If she would have listened to my friends, they're working on the cure. It doesn't look like she's got time to waste."

"I know that. I know everything about it!" Poison Ivy snapped, obviously frustrated with the repeat of information. "So here's where we strike a deal, Caitlin. Get us out of this thing-" she pointed at their cell, "-and we'll take you right on home."

Before Caitlin had time to process the deal, Datura gave a loud 'hell no!' in return.

"I am _not_ getting their stupid help!"

"Be quiet," Poison Ivy snapped at her. "We're making a deal so that _you_ can live." She returned her gaze to Caitlin and waited for an answer. "If the cure's still on the table, we'll definitely get you home. Do we have a deal?"

Caitlin's eyes flickered from the ginger woman to Datura behind. She knew these women were dangerous and yet...they were her only option to get home.

~ 0 ~

"You are _so_ dead," Iris met Shivhan at Jitters just as the latter was about to drink from her cup.

Shivhan lowered her mug to shoot Iris a look. "It's normal for people to just 'hey' when you meet them."

Iris rolled her eyes and sat across her. "My editor just showed me your little video stunt."

"Ah," Shivhan actually beamed. She put her mug down on the table. "What did he say? Is he mad?"

"Yeah, kinda!"

" _Good_! Maybe now he'll realize what an ass he was!"

"Shivhan, what were you thinking?" Iris shook her head at the woman. She respected Shivhan's brash way of doing things but she couldn't see this one ending well with Belén. "When Belén finds out what you did, she's going to kill you."

"What for? I'm _helping_ her! Have you seen all the responses our videos have gotten?"

Iris sighed without answering. She _had_. After leaving Scott's office, she went searching for those videos. Black Orchid had gotten so many botanical metas to do the same types of videos asking for the public to help Belén out. They told their stories of how Belén's article had helped them out and how it was unfair what was happening to her. "Look...it was... _moving_ , but I don't think this is what Belén wanted. She didn't do it to get noticed."

"I know that," snapped Shivhan, almost offended that Iris thought she believed that. As if she didn't know Belén already. "That's why I didn't tell her anything. It's why I also made the second video telling them why I kept the Azalea and the Flash out of the loop. I didn't want it to seem like they were playing favorites. I thought about it, Iris, and I knew that this would end either two ways. Both ways benefit Belén."

"How?" Iris was curious to hear of Shivhan's conclusions. She had an odd way of thinking that sometimes made things slightly more interesting.

"Well, path 'a' ends with CC Pictures offering Belén her job back. She gets to go back to work with you and the others, blah, blah, blah. Path 'b' has CC Pictures terminating her job-"

Iris' eyes widened. " _Shivhan_!"

"-and some other newspaper publisher will hire her," Shivhan said in a matter-of-fact tone that Iris almost felt the need to laugh. She was _so_ casual about things despite all the rumble she was causing on the internet.

"You're sure about that?"

"Of course. After all this passes, another site will think Belén did the right thing and they'll want her working for them. So you see, either way Belén wins. Bonus if she gets another offer _and_ CC Pictures is offering her the same job at the same time. She gets _choices_."

"Alright, fine," Iris raised her hands to show she was defeated. "But you get to tell her what you did. I'm not getting anywhere near close to that."

~ 0 ~

Belén tired of staring at an empty roadside that just screamed metahuman attack. She could see from around the crushed STAR Labs van that Barry was getting something off the yanked driver's door.

"There's nothing around here that could've caused that-" she pointed at the front part of the van which was just totaled, "-sort of accident. Not even a single car!"

"Well it had to be something strong enough to exert an equal amount of force back on the van," Barry went over to examine the front part of the van. As soon as he ducked he saw a splatter of dry blood. "Someone was definitely here, though!" He rushed back to his kit to retrieve the required tool.

"Not a detective, nor a forensics, but I knew that," Belén promised and nodded her head. "I also know it was a metahuman."

Barry smiled for a split moment before he returned to take some of the blood off. "If it's a meta that's after Wells…"

"Then they could be from Earth-2," Belén quickly sobered back. "But why wait this whole time? Or...do you think they were sent?"

"I don't know," and it really killed Barry being at such a disadvantage. "We've got to get Jesse, though. She needs to know."

"Yeah," Belén agreed. That should be interesting.

~0~

Finding Jesse was no big deal, bringing her back to STAR Labs and showing her what happened to her father was.

"I never should have left," Jesse wiped away some tears at the corner of her eyes. She looked away from the computer. "Do we know what took him?"

Cisco stood across the cortex, indicating them he had found something. "That fingerprint that you guys brought in, the one from the van, belongs to this guy." He pulled up a picture of a young teen on the computer.

Belén instantly made a face. "Griffin Grey. A senior at Central City High School?"

Even Barry was making a similar expression. "No, wait, I've seen this kid's picture before. He went missing, like, six months ago."

"But he's not the guy from the video," Belén waited for someone to say she was right.

Cisco was gleeful with the discovery he had made earlier. "That's what I thought at first, but feast your eyes on this." He pulled up a screenshotted picture of the kidnapper and meshed it with that of the teenager. It was a perfect match.

"It's the same guy?" Jesse tilted her head and raked the detailed information on the side of the screen.

"Yeah, the blood sample confirms it."

"I need a scientific explanation and I need it now," Belén crossed her arms, endlessly staring at the picture.

"I wish," Cisco sighed. "Without Caitlin here, I can't really analyze the cells on a molecular level to see what we're dealing with here."

Jesse cleared her throat, attracting the looks of everyone else. "You know, I might actually be able to help. Bio-chem was one of my majors in college."

" _One_ of your majors?" Barry caught on fast. "How many did you have?"

"Five," Jesse answered and became self-conscious of the gaping stares she got. "What, is that not common here?"

"That is not common anywhere," Belén patted her arm and tried not to laugh.

"All right, let's search for that Grey, see what we come up with. I'll see if facial recognition brings him up and I'll have Joe check CCPD's database," Barry made a motion to the side room he'd taken as refuge after giving up his speed.

"Cool. See what you can do," Cisco took Jesse back to the main desk.

At the same time, Belén heard her phone go off inside her bag. She went to the desk after the other two and saw it was a text.

"Uh…" she made a curious face at the sender.

Cisco was the first to notice and purposely made a 'yikes!' out loud. She then shot him a look to calm down.

"Is it someone we need to worry about?"

Belén rolled her eyes. "It's Wally."

"Wally?" both Cisco and Jesse repeated, equally confused.

"I don't even know how he got my number," Belén looked over the text again. "But he wants to meet me, apparently."

"What about?" asked Cisco.

Belén shrugged. "Wish I knew." She leaned in the direction Barry was in and saw he was concentrated in his work. "Will you let me know if you find anything?" she quietly asked of Cisco.

"For sure," the meta nodded.

"Thanks," Belén grabbed her bag and waved them goodbye.

~ 0 ~

Poison Ivy handed Datura a silver device that the brunette quickly hid in one of her pockets. Caitlin returned with a thick wire in hand that was presumed to be able to break down the carbine wall.

"Tick tock, tick tock," Poison Ivy urged her keep working.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "I'm going as fast as I can."

"Well, you better go faster. Zoom will be back any minute."

"I could just leave you in there, you know."

That was where Datura interrupted to laugh. "But we both know you wouldn't because 1) you want to go home so badly and 2) I have your family's face."

Caitlin hated she was right. As evil as Datura was, she still had Belén's face and that stopped her from any killing thoughts. "You should count your blessings Zoom didn't just kill you already."

"Only reason I'm still alive is because of these powers, honey," Datura rolled her eyes. "I'm nothing but an asset to him."

"But if you don't get cured you'll die," Caitlin made a face at the logic.

"He's punishing me. I promised I would siphon the Flash's speed and I didn't follow through. Now he's toying with my life to show who's in charge."

"Men and their dominance," Poison Ivy growled Caitlin had to agree there. "Hurry up!" Ivy hissed when we saw Caitlin just staring at her friend.

Caitlin flinched and did just that, but her eyes kept flickering to the two metas. "You two are close, right? Did what happen to both of you happen in the same place?"

"No," Poison Ivy responded, finding no point in this conversation but since Caitlin had returned to work she would let it slide. "I was a botanist, tricked by my own boss and nearly murdered."

Caitlin froze for a second but seeing the woman's glare she set right back to work. "I'm sorry for that."

"Bastard thought he could get rid of me by poisoning me but instead I was given powers," Poison Ivy devilishly smiled. "Boy was he surprised."

Caitlin gulped, knowing exactly how that story ended. "So then your powers didn't come from the Particle Accelerator…"

"No, she was known way before that," Datura smiled at her ginger friend. "I used to be scared of you. Barry would come home and tell me of the newest crime you would do."

"I was bored, sue me," Poison Ivy shrugged ever so casually.

"What about you?" Caitlin directed the same question now to Datura.

"No one's told you?" Datura quirked an eyebrow upwards. "I thought I was the major story in your group."

"I want to hear it from you," Caitlin bit her lip. "So I know how best we can help you."

"I don't need your help-"

"But you're gonna get it!" Caitlin, frustrated, shouted out. "Have you been so far gone out that you forgot what it's like to have people who care about you?"

Datura did not like where this was going and made a move to stand. "Hey-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Caitlin dropped the second wire she'd brought over. "Now you listen to me, you want me to help you escape? Fine. But here's my end of the deal. You're gonna come back with me and you're gonna let us cure you."

Datura laughed purposely loud. "You're joking-"

"I don't have to joke about someone's life!" It was her oath she took as a doctor. This woman was sick, she had Belén's face, and she was dying. She couldn't let that happen if she had a way to stop it. "And if you don't agree then this entire thing stops here." She stepped away from the tools as a show that she wasn't kidding.

Datura raised an eyebrow at her, expecting her to back down.

Caitlin never did.

~0~

"Hey, Wally," Belén greeted the younger man outside Jitters. He looked nervous, too nervous, and it made Belén wonder what was going on. She'd never met Wally without Iris around. She was so confused why he had called just her.

"Hey, Belén," Wally gave a weak wave with her hand.

"Do you wanna go in?" Belén motioned to the shop.

"Uh, actually this won't take long," Wally said, still withholding his nervous smile.

"Is something wrong, Wally?" Belén began to worry there was something he was hiding, maybe even from his family. "Do you need help? Should I call Iris!?"

Seeing her panic, Wally quickly shot down the idea. "I'm okay! I just...I read your latest article...and…"

Belén swallowed. "Yeah."

"Yeah, it made me realize that I think I need _you_ ," Wally put his hands together, rubbing his palms together. "I want to speak with the Flash, and...since it's pretty much established you know him...I thought you could help me."

Belén was speechless for all of two minutes. She assumed he had already tried this with someone else because they weren't that close for him to be asking this sort of favor from her. "Um...I don't...I don't know if I can do that, Wally. I...I haven't even, uh, seen him anymore…" she thought the lie would make her look more convincing.

"I would imagine. He saved my life, and I know he saved yours too. I owe him a thank you."

"I'm sure he knows that," Belén said softly, though she was beginning to see this was a lost a battle. He'd hit close to heart.

"Look. I've been reckless my whole life. Racing cars, pushing limits. I did everything at full speed without a care in the world," Wally said, pausing, actually feeling the wasted time. "But it wasn't until Zoom took me that... that I really thought I was gonna die. And I was going to die, if the Flash didn't do what he did. He gave up his powers to save me. A guy he didn't even know. No one's ever done anything like that for me before. I need to tell him how much that means to me."

"He has a way of getting to you, that one," Belén mumbled under her breath. She gazed at Wally again and couldn't take his pleading look. "Agh, fine! I'll...I'll see what I can do."

Wally beamed. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. But if your Dad kills me I'm putting you on the front line," she playfully warned and Wally chuckled. Hearing her phone, she motioned she needed to go and turned back for her car. As she walked, she pulled out her phone to see the probable S.O.S and, instead of being upset she promised she would scold.

Oh, she would scold.

~0~

"Where the hell is he?" Belén strode right into the cortex and planted her bag on the desk, causing Jesse beside her to flinch. "And why the hell did you lie and say you would call me if you found anything?" she found Cisco first as he walked out the side room.

"Hey, I tried doing my job but he-" Cisco pointed to Barry coming out behind, "-said we had it."

Belén wasn't even surprised. "And did you 'have it'?"

"It...no, we did not." Cisco made a quick beeline for the main desk.

"You might as well save it because I said the same thing," Joe admitted and Belén did notice the similar annoyed look on his face.

"It's done, alright?" Barry said for everyone's benefit. "It was supposed to be a quick in and out plan."

Belén moved towards him, the scolding gone and replaced with concern. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just bruised…" Barry thought over his statement and added, "... everywhere."

Belén tried to hug him but he indicated his ribcage was one of those bruised parts. She got on her toes and simply placed a kiss on his lips. "Try anything like that again and I will go full-on poison on you."

"Message received," Barry tried to hide his smile as best he could.

"Guys, I got the results from the DNA sample I ran through," Jesse called them back to the main desk. "His genes have actually mutated. The functional myostatin in his cells is essentially gone. I mean, giving him super-strength."

"And there's something else," Barry admitted, his eyes just a bit wide as he remembered his brawl with Grey. "Um, I saw him age. Right in front of me."

Jesse knew exactly what the reason for that was. "He's suffering from oxidated stress. It means the protein in the DNA in his body are being ravaged by oxidants."

"So, what, he needs to up his blueberry intake?" Joe carelessly asked since her statement had made no sense.

Jesse chuckled lightly. "No, it means, uh, the more he exerts himself, the faster he ages."

"So, theoretically, if we can get him to exert too much energy...he'd become old and weak?" Belén was already thinking on how to make that possible.

"So how exactly do we do that?" Joe went again and stopped Barry when he saw him opening his mouth. "I can't watch you be a human punching bag until he turns into Grandpa Simpson."

"It's simple, actually," Belén spoke up with a small smile. "I call Shivhan and we make it a ladies' night."

"Bells, you haven't seen this guy, he's _really_ strong," Barry shook his head at her.

"No offence but I think I would bear less injuries than you at the moment," she patted his arm and turned to Cisco. "Shivhan and I can be in the field. Can you guys monitor?"

"We can, yeah," Cisco nodded though threw a cautious look to Barry.

Belén of course noticed it and sighed. "Hey, if you three can go without powers then I sure as hell can go with Shivhan to get this guy. It's not up for discussion." And even if she sounded rude, she didn't care. At the moment, no matter how grim things were, this was the only way. "Cisco?"

"On it, yeah! I'll get Shivhan down here!"

Belén thanked him but noticed Barry silently dispersing from the group. She felt guilty for her outburst and glanced at the others, asking for a moment without actually saying it.

"Barry, I'm sorry for that…" she went after him. He'd taken to staring at his suit, one hand gently rubbing his ribcage since it still hurt. "I didn't mean to sound...well, rude. I know it's hard right now, I just...I'm sorry."

Barry briefly looked away from his suit and saw her genuine sorrow expression. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's not your fault."

"I should be more cautious though…"

Barry shook his head and held onto her hand. "It's not you, Bells. It's me." Belén withheld the fact that she knew it was about him. "You know, after I woke up from the coma, I didn't know what the hell was going on. All I knew was that I somehow had saved Iris from a car crash and that I moved pretty fast. It wasn't until the night where I told you that I would help you that I realized what I could do. We started because of that suit…"

"We didn't start because of the suit," Belén corrected quietly. "We started because of _you_."

"But helping you is what made me realize what I could be," Barry amended his mistake. "You gave me my purpose but now...I don't even know who I am anymore or who I'm supposed to be."

"You _know_ who you're supposed to be," Belén smiled to herself. She couldn't count the many times she had to repeat something like this to him. "That-" she jabbed a finger of her free hand on his arm, "-is also not up for discussion. It's your drive to help people that made you who you are." When she saw his usual smile on her face she knew he would be alright. "I love you, Barry Allen, but you need to stop saying gibberish, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Barry said without hesitation. His reward was a nice kiss.

~ 0 ~

"You know, even though you're not Killer Frost, you have got something like her," Datura had not given Caitlin a rest since she'd been practically forced to agree to the new deal.

"Don't insult me, please," Caitlin mumbled.

"She hated you, you know. Despised you…"

Caitlin ignored her and plugged in the last bit of wire. "I think it's done."

"And what exactly is this going to do?" Poison Ivy stepped up beside Datura.

"The electrical current in the cable should heat up the carbine, which in turn should speed up the electrons and the faster they go the weaker its molecular structure becomes," Caitlin stepped around the wires on he ground. "And when it gets hot enough, it should make the carbine as fragile as glass."

"And then we can all get out of here," Poison Ivy smiled. "What do you know, you might be more useful than your doppelganger."

"That I will take," Caitlin smirked. "Stay away from the wall. Let's give it a whirl."

Datura and Poison Ivy stepped backwards until they were against the wall. Caitlin moved back to the small device she had found and (hopefully) turned into what they needed. There was a loud whir coming from it and an electrical current that zipped through the wires and shattered the glass of the prison. Caitlin couldn't help laugh at her work. She'd done so much with so little...and now she would finally be going home!

"Not as stupid as you seem," Datura remarked as she walked over the btis of glass. "Now that cure, then? Do you have a way already?"

Caitlin made a face indicating she wasn't all the way there. "Not exactly. I have your blood that our Belén got from you during your last fight. I was just about to look at it and compare it to hers."

"You wouldn't have to," Poison Ivy remarked. "They're a perfect match."

Datura began to pull off her gloves then, attracting a curious look from Caitlin. "Except for the part where my cells aren't stabilizing. With each new power I take, the more unstabilized my body is."

"What are you…?" Caitlin barely got the words in when Zoom sped into the room, startling her. She whirled around, scared but not for her. "Don't you hurt them."

"He won't hurt us," Datura said, completely calm despite having the speedster's murderous glare set on her. The woman had dropped her gloves and held her bare hands out. "You might be fast but I have the power to freeze your ass now, literally."

"You want to test me?" Zoom growled and stepped forwards.

"I just want my cure," Datura stood her ground as well. "And I already have a way to get it." Caitlin gaped when Datura took out Harry's siphoning device from her pocket. "Poison Ivy and I can turn this so that I can use it against my doppelganger. And then, we might even be able to turn it so that you could get more speed."

"What are you doing?" Caitlin frowned.

"There are other earths and we know that," Datura continued on like Caitlin wasn't demanding questions from her on the side. "If we get this device to work on my doppelganger and I stabilize myself, then I can siphon Reverb's doppelganger's powers and open up portals to the other Earths. More Earths mean more speed. How would you like to rule planets now?"

"We had a deal!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"A deal you stupidly thought I agreed to," Datura rolled her eyes. "So, what do you say, Zoom? Take me back to Earth 1 and let me open the doors to the rest of the Earths for you."

Caitlin had hot tears in her eyes as she looked between Datura and Zoom.

~ 0 ~

A figure gracefully flew over a ferris wheel and stayed in place as she called the area out. She then raised a white gloves hand to her ear. "I don't see anything from my end," Nina reported.

Below walked Belén with keen eyes on the turned-off amusement rides. "Same here. Although some light wouldn't be so bad. Did you guys get ahold of Shivhan?"

"No, sorry," Cisco said. Shivhan hadn't answered their calls to come help so they had to ask Nina instead. She wasn't all that willing but knowing there was no one else, she came in.

"Well looks like you'll be getting it soon," Barry's voice rang in both women's earpieces. He and Cisco were monitoring them from the STAR Labs van parked not too far away. Jesse was with them as well since she refused to stay back this time.

"Grey's headed your way, Bells," Barry quickly added.

"Show time," Nina quickly dove to hide behind a ride.

Belén stayed put and allowed herself to be caught. Griffin Grey was a middle aged man and looked absolutely normal for those who didn't know his deal.

"I know you," Grey stated. "You work with the Flash."

"Always nice to meet a fan," Belén regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Truthfully, Captain Cold was a man smooth with words. Funny, he'd sort of disappeared as of late. Belén shook her head. This was _not_ the moment to think about that. She took a step forwards and called back. "I just want Dr. Wells. You had a run-in with some friends of mine and while I'm unhappy with the results, I'll let it go so long as you give me Wells."

"I wanted him to fix me but apparently he can't," Grey bitterly returned. "So once I finish you, I'm gonna finish him."

"No," Belén calmly said like she was turning down a coffee.

"Have it your way," Grey reached over and picked up a miniature amusement ride car and threw it directly at her.

Belén disbanded into vines and disappeared. Nina then shot up into the air and produced a blast of energy from her hands that zipped down. Grey was hit and rolled on the ground to a stop, but that didn't prevent him for much long.

"Come and catch me," Nina mocked a salute and purposely stayed put. She watched as he grabbed a barrel of trash and chucked it her way.

"Wow, you missed twice in a row," Belén had reappeared behind Grey. "Let me guess, you weren't a baseball player?"

Grey growled with annoyance and grabbed the closest thing possible. Belén smiled to herself when he threw a construction piece her way. Her vines entangled hin and brought him to her.

Soon as he was close enough, Belén punched him across the face. "Now catch us!" She let him and disbanded in vines again. Nina waved in the air and flew off in the direction Belén had gone off in.

"He's definitely following you guys," Cisco informed the two women from the monitors. "And he's definitely aged."

Belén had regained her figure and now walked alongside the shut-off ferris wheel. "Yeah, well, I don't feel pretty good about making him mad."

"Oh, but that wasn't a problem yesterday when you swore I moved your cell phone," came Barry's bitter remark.

"I apologized for that," Belén calmly said, although half of her did regret cursing at him for the cell phone. She found her bag had a rip inside and that's where her cellphone decided to hide out.

"Three words after a whole paragraph of cursing?" Barry scoffed.

"Do you want to do this maybe at another time?" Belén had spotted a figure not too far away from her. "Maybe when we're not dealing with Mr. Incredible?" Cisco laughed in the background.

"Sorry, Bells. He's coming over to you," Barry saw the man (or teen) passing the Ferris Wheel on the other side. "Nina? You ready?"

"Ready!" Nina exclaimed.

He flicked on the lights of the Ferris wheel and momentarily blinded Grey with it. Nina started pelting him with repeated wind blasts. She stopped when Grey got over the lights and prepared to receive his attack. Just as predicted, he threw her the actual control panel of the Ferris wheel which she barely avoided.

Two lassos made of vines snapped on either side of Grey, alerting of the second meta presence. He whirled around, revealing to be a white haired man now.

"Definitely almost there," Belén said, instantly taken aback by it.

It was the second of distraction Grey needed. A metal piece of fence from the ferris wheel was his next choice of weapon. Belén tried avoiding it but it managed to hit one of her knees and forced her to collide to the ground.

"Hey!" Nina quickly dove back into appearance. "You want a cure? I'm the doctor in this group. Get me!"

Grey didn't even think about his cure anymore. He only wanted her to disappear. He started throwing anything in his vicinity. Nina dodged more monitors, fences, barrels, but the last two went consecutively fast and knocked her down. She crashed onto a wooden weight game.

Even if her leg did hiss with each step she took, Belén got back on her feet. Her vines helped her hover just above the ground to avoid further pain. She shot a different vine and it wrapped around Grey's legs. "You could have had the help you wanted if you had just _asked_!"

"This is _my_ fault?" Grey laughed and grabbed onto the small platform of a wack-a-mole game. "You're no martyr. You're trying to put me away for something I didn't do! You'll be dead and so will your partner!"

Belén narrowed her eyes on the man. She pulled harder on the vines gripping his legs but Grey knew his next move long before. He purposely yanked the game platform and chucked it her way. Belén yelped and swished to the side but did not let go of him. It angered him more and pushed him to keep throwing her whatever he found. She could see that with each hit he aged more and more…

"I'm so sorry," she said and let go of him, not even attempting to avoid the final attack.

An empty barrel of trash crashed right into her. She hit the fence of a ride behind, stopping her from rolling any further. When she raised her head she saw Grey go still on the ground.

"Bells!? Are you okay!?" Barry repeated his question at least three times before Belén could finally answer.

"Yeah," she groaned and turned flat on her back. "Grey's dead. But we should really get Nina…"

~0~

After finding Harry safe and sound, the group returned to STAR Labs to get the other metas checked over.

"Nina, maybe you should be the one lying down," Belén allowed her doctor friend to conduct the studies. "I just got some bruises after all."

"I've got a concussion, so I should really _not_ be lying down," Nina playfully looked at her.

"You fell at least twenty feet from the air, take it easy girl," Cisco stepped into the side room. "Oh but might I say: completely badass tonight. Well done."

Nina and Belén exchanged glances and chuckled. "It was pretty cool," Nina admitted first. "We could be a team all on our own."

"I just wonder where Shivhan got into," Belén wondered with a shake of her head. "But yo're right Nina. Imagine you, me and Shivhan?"

"Hey, I thought you liked working with _me_ ," Barry came over to Belén's side and kissed her temple. He was glad to see there were only just bruises from her battle.

"I do, but, think about it this way. It's the dream team-" Belén made a gesture to the women, "-featuring the Flash."

"But just so you know," Nina began, dead serious too, "We'd totally kick your ass. And Cisco's too if you became a team."

Barry playfully rolled his eyes but Cisco took a mock offence. "Oh! That's how it's gonna be, then?"

Nina's lips stretched into a smile bordering a laugh. "If you disagree with my theory, practice and come back to challenge us."

"Woman, you are so on," Cisco pointed at her and backtracked out of the side room.

"He's unbelievable," Belén lightly chuckled.

"He's your friend," Nina made sure to clarify of her relation to him. "Anyways, we all look pretty fine. I'm gonna go home and keep myself awake."

"Do you want to stay over at our place?" Belén offered, knowing that was a tricky task to do when you lived on your own.

"I'll be fine, trust me," Nina assured her as she went to gather her things.

"Thank you, Nina," Barry stopped her with his seriousness. She stopped and sideways glanced at him. "Really."

"I know I'm unofficially part of this team but I will always be here to help whenever you need me. Flash and Azalea featuring Tempest?" she made a grinning motion that made the two metas in question laugh. "Goodnight, guys," she waved.

"Goodnight," the others chorused.

"I'm tired," Belén admitted but would never say her pain.

"Let's go home," Barry took her hand and let her hop off the bed, which in reality turned out to be a bad idea since her bruises reminded her of their presence.

"Oh, no, wait, I need you to do me a favor," Belén made a round so that she faced him. "It's about Wally."

"What about Wally?"

"It's not bad. Um, he just...he feels really bad about you giving up your powers for him. He wants to thank you."

"He doesn't have to," Barry tried being modest but Belén wasn't having it.

"He _needs_ to," Belén said softly. "He feels like he has to."

"You mean it's guilt?"

"I don't...think so. It's...just something he feels he has to do. So, will you?"

Barry wasn't sure what he would get from this visit but he knew he had to do it. "Alright. When and where?"

"I know the place," Belén smiled in thought. "Rooftop at Jitters."

~0~

"Wally West?"

Hearing his name, Wally scoured the rooftop for the man he'd been searching for. He found the Flash standing across him, just as was promised to him.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Wally croaked. He took a moment to swallow and gain some composure. He had thought about what he would say if Belén managed to pull it off and get the Flash to come but now that he actually had the meta in front of him, he had no idea what to say. "I, uh, I...wanted..."

Barry could see the struggle Wally was in but instead of cutting him, he gave Wally the time he needed.

Wally drew in a deep breath and hoped to God that he would get this right. He had messed up too many times before in his life and that _needed_ to stop. He wasted too much time doing stupid things but it was only until he had been kidnapped by Zoom did he realize just how stupid the things really were. "I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. And I know that that came at a huge price for you. And I don't know how I'll ever repay that. I guess, what I wanted to say was that... I'm not gonna waste this chance that you've given me. Thank you."

He didn't really know _what_ he would do, but Wally knew that he would do _something_. No more wasting time, no more being reckless. Somebody else had paid a huge price for him to stay alive and he wasn't going to let them down.

"You're welcome, Wally," Barry said with all honesty. He finally understood why Belén wanted him to do this. Something was going on through Wally's head, promising to be akin to _change_. He was aware of all the choices Wally made weren't exactly the best so he hoped that this was the moment things would really begin to change for them.

~ 0 ~

Belén was focused on her phone when Barry returned to her car. She looked up and waved her phone. "Shivhan says she's busy doing something. I have no idea what she's doing but I get the feeling we'll be figuring it out soon."

"She's weird like that," Barry felt like that pretty much summed their friend up.

Belén dropped her phone inside her purse, making sure it didn't fall into the rip again. Barry would never let her live it down if she lost it and it turned out to be in that thing. "So, how did it go?"

"Yeah, it went... good," Barry nodded. "You were right."

"I always am," Belén smirked at him. "Make sure to remember that for future arguments."

Barry laughed. "Yeah, I'll...make sure to take note of that."

Belén smiled softly at him. He was holding his mask tightly in his hands. "I'm sure Wally isn't gonna forget it."

"Yeah," Barry leaned his head back against the seat.

Belén reached over for a hand of his. "This isn't forever. We _will_ find a way."

"I mean, will we?" Barry couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness fill him up. As the days passed by, he saw the possibility of getting his speed back slipping away form him.

"Yes, we will," Belén reassured him. She touched his face and leaned over to kiss him. It was an intended short kiss but Barry relished in it. His hand moved to the back of her head while the other traveled down the side of her figure. Belén hissed and pulled away when one of her bruises was accidentally touched.

"Sorry," Barry immediately apologized but Belén chuckled.

"I think we should go home and probably rest," she said, finding their current appearances ironic. "Plus, it wouldn't be so good if someone caught us in the act. I'm supposed to be going out with a forensics and you're supposed to be going out with the Azalea."

"Good point," Barry nodded, though couldn't help smirk.

~ 0 ~

Datura was sitting on a wooden chair calm and easy, but within was another story. The voices in her head were beginning to get louder, louder than they usually were. It made her, in a sense, tired, and she knew the only way to stop them - to get back in control - was to get back to Earth 1 and get her doppelganger. She just had to play her cards right and not further test the speedster in control.

She raised her head when Zoom sped into the room. "Where's Poison Ivy?" she asked but with no real demanding from her part.

"She's in charge of Caitlin now," Zoom replied and took off his mask. "We're going back to Earth 1 and she's coming with me."

"And me?" Datura swallowed hard.

"I have another task for you," he started coming towards her so she got up from her chair. "Poison Ivy will gather the ingredients you require for your cure and when it is ready, you will get what you want and open the portals for me. But, in the meantime, you're staying here to gather my metahumans."

"What for?" Datura cluelessly asked.

"It's time to bring the other world to its knees."

Datura took that as a pre-final round to the ending of all this mess. If it meant she could keep her life, then she would make herself ready. "Whenever you're ready."

~ 0 ~

Harry didn't expect to see that Barry was already in the cortex looking ready to get to work.

"You're here early," he remarked to the ex-speedster and took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep," Barry confessed. He had woken up hours ago and decided not to bring Belén down with him. He thought maybe having an empty, silent cortex to work at would provide with good results.

"Yeah, me neither," Harry gave a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"I know that we just took down Grey without my powers, but... I have no idea how to get Caitlin back without them."

"We can't, Allen."

"Then what are we gonna do?"

Harry slowly put down his mug on the desk and decided to just come out with the crazy idea he'd thought of. "You know, Grey... Grey kidnapped me because he thought I was the Harrison Wells from this Earth, and I know he was talking about another guy, but I just... I can't help but think... I still haven't paid for what I've done."

"What does that mean?"

"I thought, you know, when you... When we closed the breaches, I could just forget about everything I've done, but I can't. I realize what I can do. You are gonna get your speed back, Allen. And I'm gonna help you do that."

Barry still felt confused about the big speech. "How?"

"By creating another particle accelerator explosion."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


	28. Lost

Sirens wailed through the streets of Central City. A pair of criminals thought they could get away with a clean heist if they had anything to say. Their car made a swift swerve onto the opposite street and revved up on the engines, leaving the policemen to try and catch up by doing faulty turns.

"We lost them!" The one driving cackled and prepared for a much smoother ride.

Mistake number one.

Tendrils of vines had sprouted from the ground and wrapped around one street pole to the next at the crossing area. The car was forced to come to an abrupt stop in a halfway swerve.

The Tempest dropped in on the driver's side, startling the man, and shattered the window with a small force of wind. "Mind if we talk?" She didn't wait for the answer and yanked the man out.

On the other side, the Azalea formed from her vines. She opened the car simply and flashed a smile. "You better come out now or you'll be guest to my lovely poison." She gently blew air to the side and allowed the man to see the pink mist form a small azalea. "Beautiful but deadly."

Soon, the police cars had caught up with them. As they exited their cars, Azalea and the Tempest each pulled out the criminals and pushed them forwards.

"All yours," the Azalea grinned before making her exit with the Tempest.

~ 0 ~

"That was four heists in one night - what the hell is with these people?" Nina demanded to know as soon as she and Belén returned to STAR Labs and changed out of their suits.

"That is the night shift," Belén patted her friend's arm and went by the desk. "Please tell me Shivhan was able to get the other robbery under control and that we're done," she had leaned down beside Cisco.

"So far so great," Cisco was happy to report.

"Great," Belén sighed with relief. "We did it."

"It's never going to be finished," Harry came out of the side room, making everyone groan. They knew what was coming. "This temporary duo isn't gonna last very long before someone figures things out."

"No, they won't," Belén narrowed her eyes on him. "The people don't care who they see, so long as someone helps them."

"Really?" Harry tilted his head. "You don't think someone's gonna question why all of a sudden this uncommon meta-"

"I am well known!" Nina argued.

"Not like the Flash is," Harry corrected. "You usually make two rounds per month and now suddenly you're everywhere and the Flash isn't? People aren't that stupid."

"Have you seen the internet lately?"

"Okay," Cisco purposely talked loud. "Without Barry's speed, this is the best solution."

"Actually, I beg to differ," Harry pointed.

"Oh God, you started it again," Belén mumbled to Cisco under her breath.

Because Harry had started yet again on his tangent of his new, fascinating idea. "I think a better idea, instead of just playing around, would be to rebuild the particle accelerator to get Barry's speed back."

"You know, I think about that idea all the time and I still can't figure out on what planet would that be considered good one?" Belén sarcastically thought. "I mean, it's not like there was an explosion or something like that - oh wait, there was!"

"Not to mention, last time we tried something like that, we blew a hole in the universe and created, like, 50 portals to _your_ Earth," Cisco added. "Which is exactly how Zoom and his henchmen got here in the first place."

Harry hated to repeat himself on something so simple. He wasn't asking them to jump blindly into something. He did his research, he knew exactly what to do yet the idea was just being thrown away. "I told you. I know how to contain the explosion."

"You know how to contain a dark matter explosion that, last time, just radiated all of Central City?" asked a seriously doubtful Cisco.

"Look, I have your Wells's data. The Harrison Wells from this Earth, I have his science. I know what chemicals need to be in Barry's body. I know how the lightning needs to bond with the dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion. I can recreate the circumstances to get you his speed back."

But still no one agreed.

"Cisco, you think you could open up a portal to Earth 38?" Belén huffed after Harry had left.

"No, why?"

"Because my adoptive daughter is also a speedster and she could help us right about now," Belén shook her head and decided to go find Barry. She had a pretty good idea of where he was.

~ 0 ~

"No, we need to kick-start the cells in her body-"

"Yes, but we need to identify the cells that are failing to regenerate-"

"-right except that-"

"I am properly scared," Belén made her presence known before Barry and Jesse went further in their argument. The two in question looked at her with slightly wide eyes. "See, this is why I don't do science. It leads to arguing."

"It's fine," Jesse playfully rolled her eyes. "We're just having trouble agreeing on the right way to go about this cure. I'm sure Caitlin would have known better."

"We're just stressed," Barry spoke up. "But you're doing fine. Thanks, Jesse."

Jesse took the compliment with a smile. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, then."

After Jesse left, Belén noticed there were several more pictures and tools set up for the apparent cure which meant they were advancing despite Caitlin's absence. "So, is progress being made?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Barry rubbed the back of his neck. "We're just having trouble finding the right way to actually stabilize Datura." Which was basically _everything_.

"I thought that's where _I_ would come in," Belén pointed at herself, slightly confused.

"Well, yes, but it's like a jigsaw puzzle, you know?" Barry took her to the clear board where both Belén's and her doppelganger's profiles were set up. "We need to figure out how your cells could fit to regenerate your doppelganger's. We also need to take into consideration which of your doppelganger's cells belong to which power she owns."

"Sounds complicated," Belén shook her head.

"Kind of, but not impossible."

"Okay but does that mean you won't be coming home with me?" Belén latched onto his arm and sarcastically batted her eyelashes at him. "Or am I going to have to fight other-me for you?"

Barry laughed and patted his hand over hers placed on his arm. "Never." Belén turned them to leave, then. "Is Harry still out there?"

Belén groaned. They both were tired of hearing Harry's incessant idea. Belén suspected was why Barry all of a sudden secluded himself in Cisco's workshop, to get away from the the madman trying to rebuild the Particle Accelerator.

~0~

It was midday when Detectives Green and West were called to Mercury Labs for a break-in. Dr. McGee led them into the security camera footage while telling the detectives it was just tiresome to have go through this all over again.

"It didn't even seem like this thief cared she was caught on video," she said as the security team worked to bring the videos up.

"Why do you say that?" Joe asked. Even he was slightly confused since nearly every meta doing thievery at least tried to take down the security cameras before committing their crime.

"Take a look," McGee gestured as one video popped up.

A tall ginger woman walked into the middle of the room and smiled directly at the camera. She wiggled her fingers and even blew them a kiss.

Veronica's blood went cold at the sight of Poison Ivy. The meta went around the room picking things up and putting them down, until she would find what she needed and kept hold of them.

"What exactly did she steal?" Joe inquired sine he knew Veronica would probably need a moment.

"A couple things," McGee began to list. "Lab tools and several meta-dampener syringes."

"What would she need that for?" Joe mumbled but Veronica had a pretty good guess.

~0~

Cisco didn't even want to look at the computer model of the 'new' Particle Accelerator and yet here he was...

"It looks like the Vacuum," he declared after a moment.

"Uh, what's the Vacuum?" Jesse gave him a questioning look.

"No "Fringe" on Earth-2. Noted. This is what you've been working on in the workshop?"

"Someone has to worry about Zoom," Harry came up to stand beside him.

"Okay. Barry cannot do this," Cisco turned away.

"He has to, Ramon-"

"You keep calling me that, but that's-" Cisco stopped when an image of his brother came to mind in a vibe. "Dante?"

Harry quickly got on him to know what he saw. "What did you see? Zoom? Did you see Zoom?"

"No. I saw my brother. I got to go!" Cisco wasn't taking the chance of letting his brother get into new danger and rushed off.

At the same time, Barry and his father, Henry, walked into the cortex. "Where is everybody?" Barry asked after only catching Harry and Jesse.

"Cisco just strangely left," Jesse shrugged and came out to greet them. "Hi," she shook hands with Henry.

"That's Jesse, Harry's daughter," Barry introduced them. Harry gave a mere wave from the doorway of the side room, not quite interested with the new visitor. "And…" but Barry's voice was drowned out by an incoming argument.

Belén came striding in with her mother right behind her, and the ombre-blonde looked absolutely livid. "I am not doing it!" She whirled around to meet her mother's equally angry face. "No! No! And did I mention _no_!?"

"Bells, what's going on?" Barry called their attention. He decided not to comment how similar Belén's angry face was to Veronica's, but it was _weird_.

"My mother is being unnecessarily…" Belén began when she saw Henry beside Barry. Her anger immediately dropped to be replaced with a smile, and a possible nervous laugh. "I am always make bad first impressions around you...sorry."

Henry liked the woman already but her personality was something else. "It's fine."

Belén came over to properly greet him. She still wished she would've gotten a little heads up from Barry to put on her best behavior, but then again she was sure Barry couldn't possibly know when Veronica would irritate her. "It's so good to have you around. I guess Barry dragged you back for a bit, huh?"

"Looks like maybe for good," Barry chimed in, completely ecstatic about it. It was refreshing for Belén to see is first real smile because as of late, he barely gave one of those.

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, yeah, I figured I spent enough time away from my son," Henry agreed.

"See, Mom? Take notes!" Belén remarked and huffed when Veronica got started again.

"I am not joking around, Annah-Belén. You need to leave! It's not safe!"

"What is going on?" Barry had never seen Veronica so frustrated and...scared? That couldn't be good.

"She's back," Veronica didn't hesitate to answer while Belén rolled her eyes and looked to the side.

"Who?"

"Poison Ivy! She's back and if she's here then it means so is that other woman."

"Or she's on her way," Harry offered but received a glare from Veronica in return.

"Be quiet!"

"How do you know she's back, Ms. Green?" Barry tried to understand. As angry as Belén was about the situation, he couldn't imagine that Veronica would make something like that up.

"Joe and I got called in by Dr. McGee this morning because someone broke into the lab last night. It was Poison Ivy."

Belén wasn't going to let her mother scare the others. "It could have bee -"

"It _was_ ," Veronica insisted, allowing no room for doubt. "She waved at the security camera like it was a game."

"If she wanted to come get me she would have done it already!" Belén argued logically.

"What exactly did she take from Mercury Labs?" Barry asked once again. He was beginning to share some of Veronica's concern but he knew at this point it would only further annoy Belén.

"I don't know," Veronica sighed, rubbing her face. "Lab tools and syringes. Meta-dampener syringes."

"Sounds like Datura is starting her own cure process," Harry spoke up. "And I think we all know who those meta-dampner syringes are going to be used on."

"Thanks for nothing," Belén spat, though she didn't have time to say what else was on her mind because of Joe coming in with a haste.

"Zoom! He's back!"

The three words were enough to silence everyone in the room no matter their positions.

~0~

Caitlin endlessly stared at the cuffs binding her wrist to an officer's desk. There was no point in escaping now. She got what she wanted: she was back home. It was just the fact she wasn't actually home that got her. The only solace she had as of now was the she'd gotten Zoom to spare the officers in the precinct. The place was now deserted of cops, leaving only the wicked to lurk about.

"Alright," Poison Ivy came walking in like she owned the place. She let go of a bundle on a desk nearby Caitlin then walked over to the brunette. Caitlin didn't know what to think when set her free by bursting the cuffs to pieces with her vines. Poison Ivy merely chuckled. "Don't look so surprised, honey. This is a conditional freedom. Up!" She yanked Caitlin to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Caitlin was forcibly pulled to the table where Poison Ivy had dropped her bag.

"About to do some supervising that's what."

"But - hey!" Caitlin yelped when she hit the table. She looked down and saw a series of files, syringes, and medical tools. "What is all this?"

Poison Ivy came to stand beside her. "It's what Datura said you would probably need. Oh, and this," she let Harry's speed siphoning device drop on the table.

"What - you want me to help you do this cure?" Caitlin's eyes widened.

"What's the problem? Weren't you helping do that here?"

"Yeah, with my _friends_. They want to actually help Datura but that's not what she wants. She wants to kill Belén."

Poison Ivy hummed and tilted her head to the side. "Plausible. But either way you're going to help because if you don't, I'll bring your little friend here with these," she grabbed one of the syringes and twirled it around her fingers.

Caitlin's scowl deepened as she saw her options slowly fade from her reach.

~ 0 ~

"So Zoom came back with Caitlin and Poison Ivy?" Belén knew that probably didn't make sense to others too. Datura had not been sighted in the city which could only mean she was still on Earth 2...but why? "Why would he do that?"

"To show power," Harry believed himself to be the only lucid thinking one in the room. He told them this would happen and now they were about to see it. "That's exactly what he did on my Earth. The first thing he did was murder people. Slaughtered a bunch of policemen. Then recruited every meta-human he could find. And those that disobeyed, he killed too."

"Where are the police now?" Barry looked to Joe.

"Outside the precinct."

"He'll kill them, Joe. He'll kill them all," Harry meant as a warning so that everyone could just see his idea was the only option left.

Joe didn't believe it right away. "Not with Caitlin with him. She talked him out of killing everyone when he took over CCPD."

Harry scoffed. "That's what we're gonna rely on? Snow talking him out of it? Joe, you need to get those guys out of there!"

Barry had to agree there. The cops were sitting ducks at this point. "Joe, what if they set up at Jitters?"

"That's a good idea... it's just a block away from the precinct."

Harry shook his head, warning them it wasn't going to work. "And then what? What happens next? You saw what Zoom did on my Earth. He will do the exact same thing here. Barry, we need to get you your powers back."

"There must be another way," Henry cut him off. He didn't understand much about this metahuman business but he sure as hell understood the danger Harry was trying to impose on Barry.

"There's not!" Harry snapped.

"Well we better start thinking of something," Belén glared at the man. She knew she wouldn't be able to capture a full speedster like Zoom but it didn't mean there wasn't technology that couldn't either.

"I know one thing we ought to do," Veronica settled a sharp look on her daughter, hands on hips too.

Belén rolled her eyes. "Oh my God," she threw her head back and kept her mouth shut for the sake of the larger problem at hand.

"I'm gonna get word to Singh. Get him to set up a task force at Jitters," Joe made a motion to leave but stopped for Veronica.

The woman looked between him and Belén, waiting for her daughter to agree with her stance. Belén matched her older siblings in that she was just as stubborn as them; she did not budge.

"I'm not going, Joe," Veronica declared, eyes always on her daughter. The ombre-blonde in question groaned and crossed her arms.

Joe wouldn't press further and made his leave.

~ 0 ~

"I-I don't know what to do," Caitlin sighed and stared down at the desk she was being forced to work at.

Poison Ivy stood behind her and waited for the brunette to get started. "What do you need, then?" She demanded, annoyed with Caitlin's lack of work. "Just tell me and I'll get it."

Caitlin's shoulders slumped downwards and shook her head. "My desk, my files, Barry's work. I don't have anything here!"

"Then you want me to clear out STAR Labs for you?" Poison Ivy forcibly turned Caitlin around.

"N-no! I don't - I don't want you to hurt anyone! I can't!"

Poison Ivy raised a hand as if to strike Caitlin but ultimately turned away and swiped clean a different desk. Caitlin leaned against the work desk and watched as Poison Ivy compose herself.

"If you...if you would let me go...I would help her," Caitlin weakly made her escape attempt. "You shouldn't have to cater to Zoom just to get the cure." She could see Poison Ivy's shoulders shake from an apparent laugh.

"You think I cater to Zoom for the cure?" She straightened and turned sideways. "I do what I do for Datura. She's my best friend and wherever she is, I am. But right now, she's dying-" she started coming towards Caitlin and since the brunette didn't have anywhere else to go she only kept leaning back on the desk, "-and poor you if that happens. I will show you why my name is Poison Ivy."

Caitlin gulped and visibly relaxed when Poison Ivy backed away from her. Poison Ivy walked around the office and picked up a notepad and a pen then brought it over to Caitlin. She pushed it to the brunette's chest. "Make a list of what you need. No tricks."

~ 0 ~

Now that Poison Ivy was back, Datura was sure to be making her return at any moment and Belén wanted everyone in the Green to be on alert. Datura was nearing her end so she was angrier and had nothing to lose; it made her an outright menace. If she was trying to come up with her own cure again, at any cost, then every botanical meta was in danger.

"Belén, what do you want me to do?" Shivhan had pulled Belén to the side after the Azalea had made her speech towards the botanical metahumans regarding Poison Ivy's presence and Datura's intention.

"Just stay here with them," Belén said, glancing back at Kinsley amongst the group. She was one of the younger metas and she still had trouble controlling her powers. Naturally, she would also be one of the metas who were most afraid. "Keep training them and just...be here for them."

Shivhan nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want..."

Belén was firm about it. "I am."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay in here because...you know...CC Pictures?"

Even with her mask on, Shivhan could still see Belén rolling her eyes. "No, I already told you that I'm not mad." How could she be mad that her friend went through so much trouble to get her job back? Belén was touched that Shivhan had gathered up all their botanical brothers and sisters to do that for her, she just wasn't sure how effective it would turn out to be.

"Good, because I really did just want to help," Shivhan reiterated yet again. Belén had lost count how many times she had said that.

"I know, trust me," Belén reassured her one more time before leaving the Green. Outside, she had to deal with her mother who'd been following her around STAR Labs trying to convince her to leave the city.

She'd done her best to evade Veronica but she was proving quite insistent. Belén was going to go crazy if she didn't get space from her. She stormed down the corridor while Veronica trailed after her.

"Mom, I don't know how else to explain it to you - maybe I should do it with apples or something - but I am not going anywhere!" She made a turn for the cortex and found a grim atmosphere. Cisco especially looked disconcerted. "What do we have now?"

"Rupture," Cisco dropped his hands from his face. "My brother's doppelganger? Yeah, he's here...and trying to kill me."

"What?" Belén looked over to Barry for some help. She seemed to have missed quite a lot in her time in the Green. Everyone seemed grim.

Harry was at the desk and pulled up a profile of said metahuman. He was covered in metal but he bore a threatening scythe. "He's another metahuman under Zoom's control from my Earth."

"So he's already beginning to bring his friends over from Earth 2," Veronica grumbled behind her daughter.

"It's exactly what I said he would do," Harry reminded, and the hint of smugness in his words made everyone shake their heads.

"Okay, well, Zoom must've lied to fake-Dante and told him I was the one who killed Reverb, 'cause dude wants me dead," Cisco raised his hands. "We've got to do something."

"He gets his power from that scythe he wields so maybe we can do something with that," Harry said.

"Thing's legit too... it almost took half the van with him," Cisco's face was distant as he recalled the monstrous weapon used against him earlier.

"All right, then that's what we need to do. We need to figure out a way to get it away from him," Barry logically thought but didn't want to see the calculations of their chances for a clean win.

"Right. Okay, all right. I'm sure I can come up with something. I just have to figure out a way to not tell Dante why this psychopath looks exactly like him," Cisco dreaded that idea as he got up to leave.

"You know what you need to do," Harry threw Barry a look.

"I need a minute," Barry felt the room too cramped-up for him and quickly left after Cisco.

"Would you put a sock in it?" Belén spat at Harry. She was already frustrated with her mother and the last thing she wanted to see was her boyfriend continuously harassed with a life-threatening idea.

"Belén-" Veronica tried to get a word in but Belén pointed a finger to her.

"No! God, would you just leave us alone!?" She threw that at Veronica and Harry together before leaving herself.

~ 0 ~

It was no surprise that Belén found Barry in the breech room since it was the room Harry had already declared would be converted for the new Particle Accelerator site.

"I'm just saying, I will punch him if you want," she came up beside Barry. His small smile made her feel a little better. He wasn't all that gone yet. "I'm sorry I haven't helped you with...all this. My Mom won't leave me alone and...between her and the city, I just…" she turned to him, "How do you feel?"

Barry really doubted that sharing his feelings would make things clearer. He thought about Harry's proposal day and night but nothing would come to mind. " It should be an easy decision but it's not."

Belén made a face at his comment and cleared her throat. "Uh, well, that's sort of normal. Building another particle accelerator and _willingly_ letting yourself be struck by lightning it isn't exactly an 'easy decision'. If you didn't think that, I'd honestly be a little worried."

"What do you think about it?"

A nervous pit started in her stomach, especially since Barry had turned to face her to hear her thoughts. "Well…" She bit her lip and really did try to look him in the eyes, "Things _are_ different since the Particle Accelerator went off. Back then you were just Iris' friend but now…" Her lips became like gum she chewed on. She swallowed down hard. "If anything happens to you...I would die. And I know that's a horrible thing to say because it just adds onto your pressure but it's just what I feel and I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry!" By the time she had finished, she was nearly out of breath.

Barry brought her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he said, finding nothing else to make her feel better. They had all these 'choices' and yet none one of them offered a 100% guarantee that they wouldn't get hurt.

"I'm sorry too," she raised her head to meet his gaze. "I'm supposed to offer you reasonable advice...but it scares me."

"It scares me too," Barry admitted.

~ 0 ~

Caitlin played dumb with the tools Poison Ivy had left for her to use. She noticed the ginger meta lurking towards the threshold where Zoom had gathered with another metahuman Caitlin didn't know of. Caitlin slowly, and innocently, began to push towards a stack of evidence boxes left behind by the cops. She was sure one of them had to have a cellphone, she just needed the right moment to search for one.

"He got away but I'll find him." It was Rupture facing Zoom outside.

"Later," Zoom said, having a different task for him in the meantime.

"But he needs to pay for what he did to my brother!"

"And he will. Later, Rupture!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"The police have gathered again. They think I've spared their lives. Tonight... show them they're wrong."

Even though Caitlin froze at the news, she quickly pulled the lid off one evidence box and thankfully found a cellphone lying just at the top. She stuffed it in her front pocket and draped her blouse's hemline over it. She hastily returned to the desk and glanced at Poison Ivy. The ginger was too focused on the others.

"Datura did good in sending him here, right?" She finally spoke.

Caitlin pretended to look into a microscope as Poison Ivy and Zoom walked into the room.

"Yes," Zoom agreed.

"Especially the lie she fed him? That his brother was killed by the very doppelganger and not you?" Zoom stopped and faced the woman, pulling his mask off. "I just want you to remember how Datura keeps serving you," Poison Ivy crossed her arms. "She's literally dying and she's gathering up your best metas for your plans."

"What do you want?"

Poison Ivy's eyes flickered to Caitlin and since there had been silence, Caitlin understood she was being watched. She dove closer into the microscope and hoped to God neither would speak to her.

"The doppelganger. Caitlin can't seem to work without her presence. Datura is coming tonight and in order for this cure to work, we need the other one."

"You want me to go get her?" A spark of amusement crossed Hunter's face.

"I can get her, no problem," Poison Ivy volunteered. "I've got the meta syringes ready," she gestured the syringes on the nearby desk. "I just need the 'ok' from you to do so."

"Please, don't," Caitlin couldn't take hearing more of this and turned to them. "Belén doesn't need to be kidnapped. She wants to help Datura."

"Sure she does," Poison Ivy rolled her eyes.

" _Please_ ," Caitlin pleaded with Hunter instead, knowing he was her best shot. "Don't take her. And...and spare the policemen. You said you would."

"We'll just see how that works out, then," Hunter flashed a wicked smile her way.

Caitlin turned back to the desk with fresh new tears. He had given her no guarantee. She waited until they got back to conversation to sneak in a brief text while she pretended to do more work.

~ 0 ~

"Belén! Guess what?" Iris was quick as she hurried into cortex. Her beaming face was quite shocking considering all the problems they had.

"What? Did something else happen?" Belén dreaded having yet another problem on her hands. She was shamefully short-handed around the place since she had sent Shivhan to the Green and Barry didn't have his speed. She was aware that at any moment they would have to call in Nina again.

"Yes, but nothing bad!" Iris knew her words were probably sounding like a dream but this was exactly why she had wanted to come to STAR Labs to tell Belén in person. "Scott wants to talk to you about your job."

Belén blinked. "What?"

"He says he tried calling you but you never answered and I figured _why_..." Iris threw a specific glance around the cortex. "So I gave him some excuse and said that I would find you for him. You should go talk to him."

"Right now?" Belén looked back at the others. Despite how inconvenient it was right now, she couldn't' help the smile that was breaking across her face. She was getting her job back!

"Yes!" Iris nodded. "You need to!"

Before Belén could say anything, they all heard a small bleep from the desk. Harry was closest so he took over the computers and found they had a message from the CCPD.

"It's got to be Caitlin!" Barry rushed over, prompting the others to do the same.

"She's sent us a message," Harry opened up the file and read it out loud. " _Rupture is gonna attack Jitters tonight. Poison Ivy wants Belén_."

Belén closed her eyes because she knew what was coming next…

"You can't go out there!" Veronica turned to her daughter.

"It's nothing new, Mom. I'm gonna call Nina," Belén responded and gave a small smile to Barry before she left. She had done it too quick so that she hadn't noticed the look on Barry's face.

"Having The Flash might be the best way to stop Zoom and the metas he's sending over. But, look, until we know for sure that setting off the accelerator will work, it's too risky. Not just for me. For the entire city. Countless others that would be affected if the explosion is not contained."

Harry rubbed his forehead. That sounded reasonable but it wasn't the easiest of things. Time was of the essence after all. "Yes, but Allen-"

"Stop, Wells. Look, I'm sorry. I've made up my mind. Sorry," Barry stopped him before he went off like Veronica did with Belén. "The Flash isn't gonna make an appearance anytime soon."

~ 0 ~

At Jitters, the cops had set up a good place for the inevitable attack of Rupture. From the street, both Barry and Cisco had decided to monitor in case something went wrong. Behind the counter were Joe and Singh, ready to deliver the last blow that would hopefully put Rupture away before he did real damage. It had taken a lot of convincing for Veronica to stay outside but it helped that her own boss was behind the idea. Belén would at least get that space there.

"Here he comes," Cisco warned the two gals in waiting.

"Copy that," Nina got the message first and began to lower herself into the building.

Rupture had entered the dark Jitters with his trusty scythe in hand. "Now, where has everybody gone?"

Belén's vines traveled from the back entrance and gracefully formed her figure. Nina flew in through the same entrance and landed just beside her.

"Definitely not who I was expecting but you'll be a nice warm up," Rupture said.

Belén wasn't interested in talking. She had to be quick, literally. She hadn't forgotten about CC Pictures and now more than ever she wanted to grab what little normality she had in her life.

Rupture gave his scythe a twirl and released a blast of red energy directly at them. The two women jumped out of the way.

"Too slow, my friend!" Nina purposely waved an arm at him. "Does that thing have a beginner stage?"

Rupture began firing at her, leaving Belén the perfect opportunity to strike. She raised her hands up, thrusting thick vines into the air. They swung in multiple lassos, attacking at different moments to make it even more difficult for Rupture to defend himself.

"Get the scythe!" She screamed at Nina over the chaos.

Nina swept down to try and grab the weapon. Rupture saw her coming and sent her another blast of energy. She put her hands over her head, creating a miniature cyclone to deflect the attack then sent it right towards Rupture. It threw him over a table.

Belén sprinted towards the tables, throwing out a vine to grab the scythe. Rupture was closer and had easier time getting to it first. "Dammit!" Belén seethed.

"We need to bring him closer to the counter," Nina flew over to Belén.

"Yup," Belén agreed. "Hey?" She called to Rupture as she backtracked towards the entrance doors. "Did you hear the news? _I'm_ what Datura wants. You know her, right? Big bad siphoner? Bring me in and I'm sure your powers are safe for the rest of the century."

Rupture got back on his feet and held his scythe again. This time he did not shoot at her. He started following her trail, passing the turned over tables and chairs...and the counter…

"Where is she, huh?" Belén's back hit the doors and was forced to come to a stop.

"Earth 2," Rupture barely answered when Joe sprung from the counter and shot the meta-dampner brace around Rupture's neck.

Singh shot forwards with the accompanying cuffs. "Are we the guys you were looking for? Hope you like being alone, 'cause you won't be talking to anyone at Iron Heights."

"Too bad you won't be able to bring in the big prize," Belén now scowled at the meta.

~0~

 _Breaking news coming out of Jitters coffee shop. CCPN has learned that a meta-human was just apprehended after an altercation with the Azalea and the Tempest._

Caitlin couldn't help the smile on her face when she saw the report. Her text had saved the cops. It had worked.

"You told them Rupture was coming. How?" Hunter came in furiously. Caitlin winced at his scream but she kept herself quiet for now. He stopped beside Poison ivy and demanded an answer.

"She must have snuck something in whole we discussed," the ginger argued. She wasn't exactly watching her when she had a million things to do for Datura's cure and Hunter's own plans.

Hunter looked around and spotted the open evidence box. "Oh, you... are smart, aren't you? You betrayed me!"

"Did you really think that was a surprise?" Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow. "I told you she was a flight risk."

"You said you would spare them!" Caitlin said before the ginger got another word in. "I-I had to!"

The fury subsided in Hunter's face. "I guess now we're even, then." He pulled on his mask and sped away...but with something else with him.

"You just saved me a trip to Jitters," Poison Ivy mirthlessly laughed at Caitlin.

~ 0 ~

Zoom sped into Jitters and essentially froze all the cops in their tracks. Belén and Nina were just arriving at the van when they were alerted of the unscripted appearance of the speedster. Inside Jitters, Zoom began to build up power. His blue electricity engulfed his body, leaving very little speculation of what was about to happen next.

"Everybody move!" Joe shouted in vain, because when Zoom began to move, time stopped.

The speedster went through every cop except Joe and Singh, and Rupture, snapping necks. When he came to a stop, the remaining watched as everyone else collapsed on the ground dead.

"I told you what would happen if you disobeyed me."

"Enough!" The Azalea came rushing inside with the Tempest over her. Even Cisco and Barry had come in, at least to see what the damage was.

"What is the point!?" Tempest gazed at the corpses on the floor in horror.

"To show the truth," Zoom turned around. He zipped across the room and snatched Rupture. He slammed the meta on the counter. "You're an even bigger disappointment than your brother."

Cisco gave an audible gasp when he saw his brother's doppelganger killed right in front of him. Zoom then moved around and picked up an ongoing camera from a cameraman he'd killed.

"Central City... the time for vigilantes have come to an end. There is no more Flash and there will be no more Azalea nor their silly companions. There is going to be no one left to protect your city...from me."

"We're always going to be here," Belén declared loudly for the camera to get.

Nina raised her hands and created another miniature cyclone. She directed it at Zoom and while it did produce a momentary force of wind throwing people around, it was not enough. Belén got Barry and Cisco to safety behind the counter then pulled Joe and Singh as well. Nina proved to be a quick meta with useful wind serving her. She threw whatever was in her way at the speedster but made the fatal mistake of throwing what was behind the counter. Zoom dodged the utensils but snatched a knife in the air and swung it back to Nina. Nina released a grunt when the knife punctured the side of her stomach. She clutched at it and fell to the ground.

"Tempest!" Belén started snapping her vine tendrils at him but her fate had already been thrown.

Zoom slammed her against the wall and with one hand around her neck, he stuck the meta-dampener syringe in her chest. Belén's eyes widened and barely expressed confusion of what had happened before her body felt the effects of the syringe.

"No!" Barry pushed Cisco's restraining hands away from him and jumped over the counter, but it was too late. He only saw Belén's eyes close shut before she was taken away by Zoom. "NOOO!"

Cisco dashed for Nina on the floor. She was outcold but he found a heartbeat. "We need to get her to a doctor!" He called but Barry was staring at the doors. His entire mind was spinning and the only thing that managed come through was: DO. SOMETHING.

"Barry!" Joe called as soon as he and Singh were up. "Get the van! Go!"

Barry tore his gaze from the doors. With teary eyes he glanced at Nina and knew there was no way in hell Belén would ever forgive him if he willingly let anything happen to her friend. He forced himself to breathe and ran out to retrieve the van.

~0~

"She's stabilized," Henry said after putting Nina's wrist back on her side. He'd taken her pulse and was glad to see the woman responding positively to her treatment.

"Is she going to be okay?" Iris asked. Her eyes gazed over the unconscious woman repeatedly.

"Well the wound wasn't deep enough to harm any organs so she should be waking up soon. With a few weeks, she'll be good."

"At least she's _here_ where we can look over her," Veronica had never been so furious and frustrated in her life and there were plenty of worthy situations in the past that could've come close. Her daughter was _missing_ , _kidnapped_ , and she knew where Belén would end up. Datura would have her soon enough and here they were, doing _nothing_.

"Ms. Green…" Iris went over to her but Veronica shook her head st her. Absolutely no words mattered at the moment.

"It won't be long now," Harry's voice drawled from the doorway. "He's moving faster than he ever did on my Earth."

Iris turned to him, as did her father, wearing matching glares. "We really don't need this right now."

But Harry kept going. "Next, Zoom will recruit every meta-human he can find, and then force them to do what he wants."

"How many can be left?" Joe wondered. "We defeated most of them, didn't we?"

"No. You're not even close," Harry walked back to the main desk with the others behind. He plugged in a USB and provided a list of names for them to see. "This... is a list of meta-humans from my Earth. Ones that are known, anyway. The particle accelerator explosion was contained on my Earth. That didn't happen here."

"Then why wouldn't we know about other meta-humans here?" wondered Joe again.

"Because we had the Flash and the Azalea," Cisco knew instantly.

"But since he's not around and two more of our metas have been put out of commission-" Harry flat out ignored the looks from everyone for the statement, "-the others are going to start coming out of the woodwork."

"We don't know that," Iris shook her head. The mere idea put her to scare. Not everything was lost. They still had Shivhan...they just needed to find a way to communicate with her while she was in the Green, that was it...

"What more do you need!? I told you he'd recruit meta-humans. We've seen him do that. I told you he would kill those officers. We saw him do that too. What more do you need?"

"Let's do it," Barry came in with a fierce determination. It took only a second for them to realize what he'd just said. "I want to do it. One of the cops that Zoom killed tonight, he had a son. Same age I was when Mom was murdered. And now, another kid has to grow up without one of their parents because The Flash wasn't there to stop that monster. I knowingly left my partner at a disadvantage and now she's out there, kidnapped just like Caitlin. Nina-" he angrily pointed at the room the woman was kept in, -"-took a knife to the stomach because I wasn't there to catch it! Now they're both hurt and we can't even get ahold of Shivhan - I am _not_ letting her get hurt too! Zoom has the path wide open to take the city down. I need my powers back. Let's do it. Let's set off the particle accelerator."

It was no secret they wouldn't be able to change his mind, and so...

"So how does this work?" Barry gazed at the makeshift personal Particle Accelerator in front of them. The sight of it did make him nervous, not to mention it gave him flashbacks of the first time he was struck by lightning.

Harry had gone straight to work with his creation and had it finished in an hour or so. Now even Cisco was helping, though he wasn't so on board with it.

"It's an abbreviated version of the accelerator evil Wells built, except Harry is isolating the antimatter and dark energy to direct it to Barry instead of the entire city," Cisco tossed Harry a wire.

"Good. Last thing we need is more meta-humans running around Central City," Joe mumbled.

"So... Barry just gets in, we turn it on, and that's it?" Iris couldn't stop staring at the big holders she knew would be strapping Barry to the machine

"Yeah," Harry nodded but then paused. "No. Not exactly. In addition to recreating what happened with the particle accelerator explosion, we also have to recreate what happened to Barry."

Barry knew what he meant. "Getting struck by lightning."

"That's right."

"Wait, so how are you gonna do that? It's not even raining outside," Veronica remarked.

But Harry had of course accounted for the weather. This was, after all, all he had been thinking about for the past week. "Well, Ramon, you have the wand."

"The one I made for Mark Mardon?"

"No, the one you built for the Harry Potter convention. _Yes_ , of course, the one you built for Mardon!"

Cisco lightly gasped at his knowledge. "How do you know about the Harry Potter convention?"

"Get the wand," Harry punctured his words with dripping command. "Get on the roof."

"Why the roof?"

"Because we're gonna need a lightning rod, and that, Ramon, is gonna be _you_."

Cisco's heart nearly stopped and yet somehow he was forced upon the roof despite it. "All right, I'm on the roof. Wow. I've never actually been up here before... I think I can see my apartment from here?"

Harry had placed himself behind the monitor to get things started. "Now head straight to the satellite, Ramon. When I give you the signal, you're gonna create a lightning storm above you."

Cisco was not liking his odds as he gazed at the big satellite in front of him. "So I'm just supposed to stand here in the middle of a lightning storm?"

"Really, Ramon. Chances of being struck are slim, indeed…"

Cisco scoffed and loudly too. "Yeah, not when you're the one causing it!"

Gary skipped over that fact and continued with business. "All we need is one lightning bolt to strike the satellite. The satellite circuitry's connected to the breach room. Barry's in the breach room so just do it."

Cisco sighed and braced himself. "Yeah. I'm doing it. Mozart better watch out. Cisco Ramon's about to conduct something nasty."

Meanwhile, Joe and Iris helped Barry into his appropriated spot.

"You're gonna feel these clamps, but they're necessary," Harry warned just before he activated said clamps.

Barry tried to suppress his yelp but the clamps punctured his skin. He saw Joe staring with undeniable fear. "You good?"

Joe thought the question ridiculous seeing Barry was the one in actual pain, but he went along with it. "Yeah. You?"

"I'll be fine, Joe."

"Barry, whatever happens, we'll be right here," Iris promised him. She would try to support him on behalf of Belén even though there was a huge difference. She honestly thought that Belén would've talked him out of this mess if she was here...

"Son... you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Henry reminded Barry with a bit of hope it would get through to him. He was scared out of his mind seeing his son strapped to all that technology that would strike him with unbearable pain.

"Being the Flash... that's the best version of me. If I don't have my speed, I'll never be that person anymore. I have to do this," Barry spoke with nothing but honesty. It was all on him and he wanted to go through with it.

His eyes rested on Veronica who had yet to say a word. She stood on her own, no longer talking to anyone. She was at a loss just like him.

"Ms. Green," he called but she barely looked at him. "First thing I'll do when I come back is find her. And I _will_ bring her back."

Veronica saw his honesty. She learned to recognize it by now. She truly appreciated to what extent he was going to get everyone back, especially her daughter. It was hard to believe that she hated him before. She wanted nothing to do with him, she wanted her daughter far away from him because she firmly believed that he wouldn't be good for Belén. And now there he was risking his life not only for Belén but for an entire city. She had shamefully judged him wrongly.

"Just...just come back, Barry. Start with that." Because the last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt too.

"All right, then. Here we go," Harry began to activate the Particle Accelerator.

The others gathered around the steps where Veronica was, but their fears rose when the ground began to rumble like an earthquake was about to strike.

"Particles are becoming unstable. Ramon, get ready!" Harry shouted through the comms. "I'm gonna release the chemicals into his system!"

And as promised, Barry began to feel every last injection spiking his body. The pain seem to increased with each injection but he was still adamant this was the only way.

"Why are you doing that!?" Iris was close to tears.

"Because the night Barry was struck by lightning, he was doing fingerprint analysis. Those chemicals got in his system then, and they are going in now."

"So you're injecting them into him!?"

"We have to recreate everything that happened to Barry that night!"

Even though Barry called out to them that he was fine, it was hard to sustain the lie.

"He's going hydrostatic. Almost there. Almost there!" Harry kept a close eye on the monitor.

"Wells!" Joe was close to shutting everything off.

"Ready, Ramon? Now!"

From the rooftop, Cisco took in a breath and raised the rod up. "Expecto Patronum!" he shut his eyes and prayed to god he wouldn't turn into ash in the next second. He felt the lightning clap down but it skipped and transferred right into the satellite. "Great Scott! It's working!"

"Initiating collision!" Harry turned the last switch and let the rest take its course.

A great release of smoke blasted from the machine, followed by a throw of its same energy that pushed everyone backwards to the floor. As they came through, the machine died down.

Harry was the first to get back on his feet. "It worked!" He cheered

Joe helped Iris up and looked to the others. "Is everyone okay?"

Now they awaited for Barry to give the 'ok!' from his spot. The waited for the smoke to clear out, but when it did they saw no Barry...just a tattered piece of his suit.

"No! No. What did you do to my son?" Henry turned on Harry, assuming the worst. There was no where for Barry to go and if that was true...

Zoom sped into the room and taunted them for their failure. "You thought you could give the Flash his speed back? Well done. You killed him instead!"

He had _won_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I hope everyone's doing well during these tough times! If you're back to work like me, take extra care!

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.


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